Iron Mike
[1][2][3] Because the use of the slang term was popular in the first half of the 20th century, many statues from that period acquired the Iron Mike nickname, and over the generations the artists' titles were largely forgotten.
Marine Officers and Enlisted donated money to purchase the statue, and it was sited in front of the Base Headquarters, Building 1019, in Quantico, Virginia, some 75 miles from DC and a bit off the tourist trail.
It was sculpted by Felix Weihs de Weldon, the artist who had earlier designed the giant Marine Corps War Memorial in Washington, D.C.
Officiating at the monument's dedication ceremony was then Commandant of the Marine Corps, General Lemuel C. Shepherd Jr., who had fought and was wounded at Belleau Wood 37 years earlier.
Together the four Generals, Shepherd, William A. Worton, Gerald C. Thomas, and Alfred H. Noble, made for a unique gathering of senior Marines in Europe.
[11] The bronze plaque, mounted on the base, reads: "In memory of the men of Parris Island who gave their lives in the World War, erected by their comrades.
Sculpted by Leah Hiebert in 1960 and 1961, using Sergeant Major James Runyon as a model, the statue depicts a World War II-era Airborne trooper with a Thompson submachine gun at the ready.
The vision of former XVIII Airborne Corps Commander, Lt. Gen. Robert F. Sink, the statue was not named for any one man or unit, but rather dedicated to all paratroopers; past, present and future.
[13] Omar Bradley, Matthew Ridgway, Anthony McAuliffe, Maxwell Taylor, Thomas Trapnell, and William Westmoreland were among the fifteen generals who attended the dedication ceremony.
Originally installed at the southern entrance on Bragg Boulevard, the Airborne Trooper was moved to the traffic circle in front of the post headquarters in 1979 to prevent vandalism and increase visibility.
(35°08′54″N 78°59′27″W / 35.14820°N 78.99095°W / 35.14820; -78.99095) Fort Bragg’s original Iron Mike stood 16 feet 4 inches (4.98 m) tall from boot heel to the top of his helmet and weighed 3,235 pounds (1,467 kg).
[20] The statue is 9 feet (2.7 m) tall and stands on a 6-foot (1.8 m) granite base, depicting a soldier clad in a period uniform with a campaign hat and a Krag-Jørgensen rifle.
Designed by Works Progress Administration Federal Art Project sculptor, John Palo-Kangas, the statue was typical of the art-deco style of that period.
Unveiled by President Franklin D. Roosevelt at CCC Company 1917 in Griffith Park, Los Angeles, California, the original statue has since disappeared, but was replaced in 1993 with a bronze reproduction sculpted by Jim Brothers.
[24] Marine Corps Logistics Base Barstow has a ridge that is used during training that is nicknamed "Iron Mike" due to the steepness of the terrain and determination it takes to run up without stopping.
