MEMORIAL FLAG
On November 10, 1954, The United States Marine Corps War Memorial was dedicated by President Dwight
D. Eisenhower. In attendance were three survivors of the battle on Iwo Jima, two Marines, and a Navy Corpsman,
the only survivors of the six flag raisers, in Joe Rosenthal’s immortal photograph. The War Memorial, known to some
as the Iwo Jima Memorial, is not dedicated to these men, nor those lost during the battle on Iwo Jima, as many think.
Located on the right pillar at the stairs of the Memorial is a plaque which reads:
“Dedicated to the Marine dead of all wars, and their
comrades of other services that fell fighting beside them.”
Recognizing this fact, and in memory of those who have sacrificed all, etched in gold around the Memorial is a
list of all wars in which Marines have fought since 1775.
Flying above the Memorial, is a post flag, measuring ten by nineteen feet. In 1961, President John F. Kennedy,
signed a proclamation that the flag above the War Memorial, should fly twenty four hours a day. The Memorial Flag
flies in honor, and recognition of our fallen brothers, and those who fell fighting beside them.
Federal law states that the flag “is considered a living thing”. 4 USC Section 8(j). The Memorial Flag, therefore,
is the only living part of the Memorial. A fact not recognized as such by many.
Through its sponsorship program, the United States Marine Corps War Memorial Flag Detail, Inc., Iwo Flags,
provides the National Park Service with the Memorial Flags that are flown above the Memorial, rotated by Marines
of Henderson Hall, HQMC. The primary mission of Iwo Flags is to ensure clean, crisp colors are always found
proudly flying above the War Memorial.
The sponsored flags are not flown in recognition of any person, action, or service. They are flown to honor those
to whom the Memorial is dedicated. Once they have been flown, the flags are considered retired and are never
to be again flown.
SEMPER FIDELIS
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