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VOICE ONE:
American artist Felix de Weldoncreated many large sculptures during his ninety-six years. His workscan be found around the world. Among them is one of the largestfree-standing bronze statues anywhere. I’m Steve Ember.
VOICE TWO:
And I’m Faith Lapidus. We tell how Felix de Weldon came to makethis statue — this week on the VOA Special English program THIS ISAMERICA.
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VOICE ONE:
Our story is about one moment intime. Really, one-four-hundredths of a second. That is the amount oftime it took Associated Press photographer Joe Rosenthal to capturea historic image on film.
The photograph shows six men and an American flag during a battlein World War Two. Joe Rosenthal took it on February twenty-third,nineteen-forty-five, on the Pacific island of Iwo Jima. Japaneseforces held the island. American Marines were trying to capture it.
On the fourth day of battle, Marines fought to the top of MountSuribachi, the tallest mountain on Iwo Jima. A small American flagwas sent to the top. The Marines placed the flagpole in the ground.
VOICE TWO:
But the small flag could not be seen clearly far below.Commanding officers ordered the Marines to replace it with a muchlarger one. Joe Rosenthal wanted to make a picture of the event. Sohe took his camera and began to climb slowly up the mountain.
When he reached the top, Marines were tying the larger flag to aheavy pole. Joe Rosenthal backed away from the group and begantalking to another photographer.
A minute later, he saw movement out of the corner of his eye.”There it goes!” he said. He swung his camera up, following themovement of the flag, and pressed the button that took the picture.
VOICE ONE:
Six men are in the photograph. But only four of them are clearlyseen.
In the front is Harlon Block, a Marine from Yorktown, Texas. Nextis John Bradley. His face is the only one in the picture. He was aNavy corpsman; his job was to treat the wounded.
Also in the picture is Franklin Sousley, a Marine from Hilltop,Kentucky. And all the way at the left is Ira Hayes, a Marine, and anAmerican Indian. The heavy pole holding the flag had just left hishand when the picture was taken.
Behind these four men are two other Marines. They cannot be seenas clearly. They are Rene Gagnon of Manchester, New Hampshire, andMike Strank. He lived in Johnstown, Pennsylvania, but was born inJarabenia, in what was then Czechoslovakia.
VOICE TWO:
The next day, Joe Rosenthal’s film went by airplane to the islandof Guam where it was developed and printed.
The pictures were given to Associated Press photo editor JohnBodkin. It was his job to decide which ones to send to the UnitedStates. They would go on a machine that sent images by radio.
As histories tell it, he looked and looked at the firstphotograph, and said: “This is one for all time.” Within minutes hesent the picture of the six men raising the flag to the AssociatedPress headquarters in New York.
From there, the photograph went to newspapers across the UnitedStates. Most decided to print a huge copy on their front page.
VOICE ONE:
Most photo experts will tell you that the picture Joe Rosenthalmade is almost perfect.. The camera catches the flag as it rises.The flagpole cuts across the photograph. Wind blows against theflag.
The experts also say you must look at the picture as the Americanpublic saw it in nineteen-forty-five. The world had been at war foryears. Victory was not yet certain. Many people worried about familymembers. Many had a deep fear of the enemy.
The picture shows strength and courage. It suggests that sixyoung men are working together to defeat the enemy. Joe Rosenthal’sphotograph seemed to say: the battle may not be over, but we arewinning.
It was the very image of a future American victory.
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VOICE TWO:
In Washington, D.C., Felix de Weldon saw the photograph in thenewspapers. Born in Austria, he came to the United States and was anartist in the Navy.
Many years later he would say, “I had been an artist all my life.When I first saw it I recognized the power of this photograph. Icould not take my eyes from it. I looked at the photograph for somehours and then began working.”
Seventy-two hours later, Felix de Weldon had made a small statueof Joe Rosethal’s picture. Within days, members of Congress had seenthe small statue. Many began to call for a huge statue. PresidentFranklin Roosevelt ordered the Marine Corps to send home the men whohad raised the flag.
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By then, however, it was too late. Mike Strank, Harlon Block andFranklin Sousley were dead. They were among the more thansix-thousand Marines killed on Iwo Jima.
Navy Corpsman John Bradley had been severely wounded. But he,Rene Gagnon and Ira Hayes returned to the United States.
People said they were heroes. The three men said they had donenothing but help put up a flag. But Joe Rosenthal’s photograph wasso powerful, nothing would change people’s minds.
Felix de Weldon soon made a life-size copy of the statue. Hecarefully copied the faces of the three survivors. He used all thephotographs he could find for the three who had been killed.
His statue helped pay for America’s war effort. The statue andthe three survivors traveled from city to city to raise money.
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VOICE TWO:
Joe Rosenthal’s photograph became more and more famous. His workearned the Pulitzer Prize.
There was public demand to put the image on a postal stamp. InJuly of nineteen-forty-five, the government agreed. More thanone-hundred-thirty-seven-million were printed.
People also demanded a huge statue of the six Marines.
In nineteen-forty-six, Felix de Weldon started all over again.First he made a statue out of plaster. Then he used the plaster formas a guide to make the final statue out of bronze metal.
Again, he called on the three survivors. Felix de Weldon wantedto make sure he had them correct.
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It took Felix de Weldon nine years to complete the statue. Thememorial honors all members of the United States Marine Corps whodied in battle since the American Revolution.
On November tenth, nineteen-fifty-four, President DwightEisenhower led ceremonies at Arlington National Cemetery. The burialgrounds are across the Potomac River from Washington.
Ira Hayes, Rene Gagnon and John Bradley attended the ceremonies.It was their last time together. Ira Hayes died three months later.
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VOICE TWO:
Millions of people have come to see the statue that Felix deWeldon made. It stands in a grassy area along a busy road at theedge of Arlington National Cemetery, in Virginia. The statue weighsmore than twenty-tons.
Each man is almost ten meters tall. They seem about to move.Their bodies push forward as they struggle to raise the flag. Theirclothes show the bones and muscles underneath. Their faces show thehard work.
Many visitors say it is an emotional experience. People stand andlook up at the six men. And, they take pictures, just as JoeRosenthal did on February twenty-third, nineteen-forty-five.
VOICE ONE:
John Bradley was the last to die of the six men who raised theflag on Iwo Jima that day. He died in nineteen-ninety-four. Felix deWeldon died on June sixth, two-thousand-three.
Joe Rosenthal is retired and lives in San Francisco, California.
Soon after his photograph was published, some people began todispute it. They said it did not show what really happened that dayon Mount Suribachi. They suggested that Joe Rosenthal had placedeveryone where he wanted them, and then took the photo.
Joe Rosenthal says that is not true. Photography experts say itis easy to tell that the photo is real. They say no photographerwould make a picture that hides almost all of the people’s faces.And they say no photographer would have two of the people nearlyhidden.
Decide for yourself. A copy of Joe Rosenthal’s photograph, andpictures of Felix de Weldon’s statue, are on our Web site. Theaddress is
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VOICE TWO:
Our program was written and produced by Paul Thompson. Our studioengineer was Sulayman Tarawaley. I’m Faith Lapidus.
VOICE TWO:
And I’m Steve Ember. Listen again next week for the VOA SpecialEnglish program THIS IS AMERICA.