Upon first seeing the photograph, sculptor Felix de Weldon created a maquette for a sculpture based on the photo in a single weekend at Patuxent River Naval Air Station in Maryland, where he was serving in the Navy.

De Weldon spent three years creating a full-sized master model in plaster, with figures 32 feet (9.8 m) tall.

Peaslee's base for the memorial is made of black diabase granite from a quarry in Lönsboda, a small town in the southernmost province of Sweden.

After that, they were reassembled into a dozen pieces and were shipped back to Arlington, Virginia in a 3 truck convoy, to which was added a 60 feet (18 m) flagpole.

President John F. Kennedy issued a proclamation on June 12, 1961, that a Flag of the United States should fly over the memorial 24 hours a day, which is one of the few official sites where this is required.

The Marine Barracks, Washington, D.C. uses the memorial as the centerpiece of its weekly Sunset Parade, featuring the Drum and Bugle Corps and the Silent Drill Platoon.

Front (west side): "Uncommon Valor Was a Common Virtue" – "Semper Fidelis" Rear (east side): "In Honor and Memory of the Men of The United States Marine Corps Who Have Given Their Lives to Their Country Since 10 November 1775" The "uncommon valor" remark was made by Fleet Admiral Chester W. Nimitz, USN on 17 March 1945.

The United States Marines, by their individual and collective courage, have conquered a base which is as necessary to us in our continuing forward movement toward final victory as it was vital to the enemy in staving off ultimate defeat....

Created By Felix De Weldon, And Inspired By The Immortal Photograph Taken By Joseph J. Rosenthal On February 23, 1945, Atop Mt.

Dedicated, November 10, 1954" A persistent rumor has attributed the existence of a thirteenth hand from the six statues of the men depicted on the memorial, and speculation about the possible reasons for it.

The $5.37 million donation, made through the National Park Foundation, supported cleaning and waxing the statue, polishing the black granite panels, regilding inscriptions, relandscaping, and making repairs to the pavement, lighting and flagpole.

[14] When there were no government funds for sculpture during the war, de Weldon self-financed a cast stone version of similar design in a one-third size that was placed on a parcel of land in Washington, D.C. until 1947, when it was put into storage.

This article incorporates public domain material from websites or documents of the United States Marine Corps.