Iwo Jima

Here is another post of our latest D.C. trip. We visited the Iwo Jima Memorial. Once again, it's huge.It is 78 feet tall. It cost $850,000 to build, which was all donated by former Marine Corps and families. No public funds were used to pay for it. The thing weighs 20 tons! It was molded off site so when they moved it to the location they used a truck convoy. Surrounding the memorial is a field of grass where they hold concerts in the summer. Next to Iwo Jima is the bell tower that the Netherlands gave us. It's huge too. On selected days someone plays the bells in the summer. We are hoping to be able to hear it this summer.

This is the front of the memorial.


Here is Brigham and Luc enjoying the day with Uncle Ja.


Here is Ja's favorite shot to take. The memorial with the Washington Monument in the background.


I do think one thing is funny on the memorial. Going all around the top are the battles, wars, and other events that the Marine Corps helped with. I know Virginia is a Southern state, but for the Civil War it says "War Between the States." I thought they would have been over that in 1954.