Cape Coral in Lee County, Florida — The American South (South Atlantic)

Iwo Jima Monument

Photographed by Tim Fillmon, October 2, 2018

1. Iwo Jima Monument Marker Side 1

Inscription.

Iwo Jima Monument. . , This monument immortalizes the famous photograph taken by Associated Press photographer Joe Rosenthal during the American victory over Japan on the island of Iwo Jima on February 23, 1945. One of the most iconic images of World War II, the photograph depicts 5 U.S. Marines and a Navy Corpsman raising the American Flag atop Mt. Suribachi. After the brutal 36-day battle, Navy Admiral Chester Nimitz, said that on Iwo Jima “Uncommon valor was a common virtue.” Of the 27 Congressional Medals of Honor awarded to U.S. armed forces who fought on Iwo Jima, 22 were awarded to Marines, and to Navy personnel, 5 of them corpsmen. Fourteen medals were awarded posthumously. The U.S. suffered 26,038 casualties in the battle including 6,821 dead. Of the 22,785 Japanese soldiers defending Iwo Jima, only 1,083 survived. The airfields captured on Iwo Jima served as vital assets to the American war effort, providing emergency bases for B-29 bombers returning from missions over Japan. The monument captures the emotional impact of the event, and honors the courage and sacrifice made by the participating U.S. Marine and Naval forces. , (Continued on other side)

Side 2 , (Continued from other side) , This monument was crafted by Felix de Weldon, sculptor of the national Iwo Jima Memorial statue in Arlington, Virginia. De Weldon created two larger than life-sized monuments to travel with the 7th War Bond Tour of 1945. The third and last cast from the original mold was commissioned in 1964 by Cape Coral developers, the Rosen Brothers, and dedicated in 1965. Originally located at Tarpon Point’s Rose Garden, this monument served as a promotional tool to drive real estate sales in Cape Coral during the 1960s. In the 1970s, the Rosen Brothers fell into bankruptcy and the Rose Garden was abandoned. Many of the exhibits and gardens were later vandalized and damaged by neglect. In 1980, Michael Geml, Vice President of North First Bank hired de Weldon to restore and move the monument to the bank's Cape Coral property where it stood until 1997. The monument was restored a second time by the Lee County Marine Corps League Detachment following its relocation to ECO Park Preserve in 1997. A third major restoration was completed in 2011. A source of pride for Cape Coral, this monument is the only one of de Weldon’s originals in civilian possession.

This monument immortalizes the famous photograph taken by Associated Press photographer Joe Rosenthal during the American victory over Japan on the island of Iwo Jima on February 23, 1945. One of the most iconic images of World War II, the photograph depicts 5 U.S. Marines and a Navy Corpsman raising the American Flag atop Mt. Suribachi. After the brutal 36-day battle, Navy Admiral Chester Nimitz, said that on Iwo Jima “Uncommon valor was a common virtue.” Of the 27 Congressional Medals of Honor awarded to U.S. armed forces who fought on Iwo Jima, 22 were awarded to Marines, and to Navy personnel, 5 of them corpsmen. Fourteen medals were awarded posthumously. The U.S. suffered 26,038 casualties in the battle including 6,821 dead. Of the 22,785 Japanese soldiers defending Iwo Jima, only 1,083 survived. The airfields captured on Iwo Jima served as vital assets to the American war effort, providing emergency bases for B-29 bombers returning from missions over Japan. The monument captures the emotional impact of the event, and honors the courage and sacrifice made by the participating U.S. Marine and Naval forces.
(Continued on other side)

Side 2
(Continued from other side)
This monument was crafted by Felix de Weldon, sculptor of the national Iwo Jima Memorial statue in Arlington, Virginia. De Weldon

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created two larger than life-sized monuments to travel with the 7th War Bond Tour of 1945. The third and last cast from the original mold was commissioned in 1964 by Cape Coral developers, the Rosen Brothers, and dedicated in 1965. Originally located at Tarpon Point’s Rose Garden, this monument served as a promotional tool to drive real estate sales in Cape Coral during the 1960s. In the 1970s, the Rosen Brothers fell into bankruptcy and the Rose Garden was abandoned. Many of the exhibits and gardens were later vandalized and damaged by neglect. In 1980, Michael Geml, Vice President of North First Bank hired de Weldon to restore and move the monument to the bank's Cape Coral property where it stood until 1997. The monument was restored a second time by the Lee County Marine Corps League Detachment following its relocation to ECO Park Preserve in 1997. A third major restoration was completed in 2011. A source of pride for Cape Coral, this monument is the only one of de Weldon’s originals in civilian possession.

Erected 2014 by The City of Cape Coral and the Florida Department of State. (Marker Number F-836.)

Topics. This historical marker and monument is listed in these topic lists: Arts, Letters, Music • Patriots & Patriotism • War, World II. A significant historical year for this entry is 1964.

Location. 26°

Iwo Jima Monument Marker Side 2 image. Click for full size.

Photographed by Tim Fillmon, October 2, 2018

2. Iwo Jima Monument Marker Side 2

36.494′ N, 81° 55.007′ W. Marker is in Cape Coral, Florida, in Lee County. It is on Southeast 23rd Terrace 0.4 miles east of Southeast 21st Avenue, on the right when traveling east. Marker is located in the Four Mile Cove Ecological Preserve. Touch for map. Marker is at or near this postal address: 2101 SE 23rd Terrace, Cape Coral FL 33990, United States of America. Touch for directions.

Regionally, this marker and monument is on Florida’s Gulf Coast.

It is also in the American South

and on the Gulf Coast.

Globally, it is in the North Atlantic Region,

North America,

a Gulf of Mexico state,

the Western Hemisphere,

the Western World,

and the Anglosphere.

Historically, it finds itself in what was once New Spain,

the territory of the Mississippian Culture,

one of the Confederate States of America,

and the Antebellum South.

Other nearby markers. At least 8 other markers are within 3 miles of this marker, measured as the crow flies: Squeezing Success (approx. 2.8 miles away); Citrus on the High Seas (approx. 2.8 miles away); The Gift of Citrus (approx. 2.8 miles away); Citrus Heats Up in Fort Myers (approx. 2.8 miles away); The Henry Ford Citrus Grove (approx. 2.8 miles away); The Past, Present, and Future of Florida Citrus (approx. 2.8 miles away); 1929 Ford Model A / 1921 Ford Model T Chassis Converted into a truck (approx. 2.8 miles away); The Landscape of The Mangoes (approx. 2.8 miles away).

Iwo Jima Monument Marker and Monument image. Click for full size.

Photographed by Tim Fillmon, October 2, 2018

3. Iwo Jima Monument Marker and Monument

Iwo Jima Monument image. Click for full size.

Photographed by Tim Fillmon, October 2, 2018

4. Iwo Jima Monument

U.S. Marines [of the Fifth Division] raise the American flag on top of Mount Suribachi on Iwo Jima image. Click for full size.

Joe Rosenthal/ US Marine Corps (photo courtesy of the National Archives at College Park), 1945

5. U.S. Marines [of the Fifth Division] raise the American flag on top of Mount Suribachi on Iwo Jima

This is the photo upon which the memorial is based, as noted in the marker text. Worth asking is the question: how many people does the marker say are in the photo, and how many are actually in the photo and monument?

Credits. This page was last revised on December 22, 2018. It was originally submitted on December 22, 2018, by Tim Fillmon of Webster, Florida. This page has been viewed 788 times since then and 77 times this year. Photos: 1, 2, 3, 4. submitted on December 22, 2018, by Tim Fillmon of Webster, Florida. 5. submitted on December 22, 2018. • Andrew Ruppenstein was the editor who published this page.