Iwo Jima Memorial original plaster/fiberglass sculpture (Marine Military Academy)

Harlingen, Texas, United States

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Listed, not yet checked · Oct 2026

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The original full-size working model for the Iwo Jima Memorial, made by sculptor Felix de Weldon, stands on the parade ground of the Marine Military Academy in Harlingen, Texas; its 32-foot figures were dedicated there on 16 April 1982.

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Iwo Jima Memorial original plaster/fiberglass sculpture (Marine Military Academy)

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Site-level location · 26.1906° N, 97.6961° W

FIELD GUIDE

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The famous Iwo Jima flag-raising statue in Arlington has a twin in the Rio Grande Valley, and this is the older one. The Marine Military Academy in Harlingen holds the original full-size working model, which sculptor Felix de Weldon gave to the school in October 1981. The academy says it was dedicated on its parade ground on 16 April 1982.

According to WKMG, the model was made from molding plaster over 9.5 years, with three of the surviving flag-raisers posing and their faces moulded in clay. When it was finished the figures were taken to Brooklyn to be cast in bronze, and the bronze version was dedicated at Arlington on 10 November 1954. The 130-ton model stayed in de Weldon's Rhode Island studio for more than 25 years.

WKMG lists several reasons for the move to Texas: the sculptor wanted the model to inspire cadets, Harlingen's steady climate suited the plaster, and Corporal Harlon Block, one of the six men depicted, came from Weslaco, about 19 miles away. WKMG adds that his grave lies behind the monument. It reports that no public funds paid for the move; the transport was donated.

The academy gives the figures as 32 feet high, standing on a rock slope above a 10-foot base, with a 78-foot steel flagpole flying a cloth flag 24 hours a day. WKMG puts the whole monument at 104 feet, 26 feet taller than Arlington's.

The monument stands on the grounds of a working military school. The academy's website says the monument grounds remain open to the public daily from 8.00 am to 4.30 pm while the Iwo Jima Museum is closed for renovation until spring 2028. Check with the academy before travelling.

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The monument stands on the parade ground of a working military school. The academy's website lists the monument grounds as open to the public daily 8.00 am to 4.30 pm, with the Iwo Jima Museum closed for renovations until spring 2028; it is worth checking ahead.

ACCESS

Marine Military Academy parade ground, 320 Iwo Jima Boulevard, Harlingen, Texas. The academy's website lists the monument grounds as open to the public daily 8.00 am to 4.30 pm; check with the academy before travelling.

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