Ask Mr. Know-It-All: A monument to courage

Q: The Marine Corps War Memorial depicts five U.S. Marines and one sailor raising the U.S. flag on Iwo Jima during World War II. What inspired the sculpture? Who posed for the men? When was the monument created? — C.M., Tampa Bay, Fla. A: Felix de Weldon (1907-2003), an American sculptor born in Vienna, Austria, created the work based on a Pulitzer-winning photograph taken by Joe Rosenthal of the Associated Press on Feb. 23, 1945. De Weldon used three of the six men as models; the other three died in combat — they were sculpted from photographs. The 32-foot-high figures are shown raising a 60-foot-tall flagpole on which a cloth flag flies. Dedicated on Nov. 10, 1954, the bronze monument is located near Arlington National Cemetery.