Atlantic School Goes to Washington  February 2004
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Iwo Jima

Julie

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West View Emblem on base of Memorial which reads "Uncommon Valor was a Common Virtue"
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Front View 8th Grade Class in front of Iwo Jima Memorial Front View of Memorial
Word Problems Scavenger Hunt Fact or Fiction Site Information

Word Problems

  1. The island of Iwo Jima was 5 miles long and 2 1/2 miles wide in the year 1996. What was the area? If the island's area doubles every 998 years, what will the area be in the year 9980?
    (FORMULA: Area = Length x Width)

  2. The Iwo Jima Battle was fought on the island of Iwo Jima.  Suppose the island is 500 miles from the coast of Japan and 5 miles long.  Soldiers jump out of airplanes all over the area and have no certain place to land.  What is the probability that a soldier will land on the island?  What is the probability that a soldier will land in the water? (Round to the nearest percent)

  3. There are six human figures of soldiers on the Memorial. Put their placement positions in order. Hayes is the farthest from the flagstaff. Sousley is in front of Hayes. Strank is behind Sousley on the left. Bradley is in front of Sousley. Gagnon is in front of Strank, and Block is closest to the flagstaff.

Name

Position on Statue

Sousley

 

Hayes

 

Strank

 

Gagnon

 

Block

 

Bradley

 

Answers to Word Problem

Scavenger  Hunt

Link to web site: http://www.nps.gov/gwmp/usmc.htm

  1. The Iwo Jima Memorial is a symbol of _______________.

  2. The island of Iwo Jima is _____ miles south of __________.

  3. By February, 1945, U.S. troops had recaptured most of the territory captured by whom?

  4. Who took the famous picture that inspired the memorial to be created?

  5. The three survivors of the flag raising were _________, _________, and _________.

  6. How long did the memorial's casting process take?

  7. How tall are the figures on the monument?

  8. There were ______ people included in the monument.

  9. Who donated the $850,000 used to pay for the monument's construction?

  10. On the base, a tribute of Fleet Adm. Chester W. Nimitz is inscribed. What does it say?

 

Answers to Scavenger  Hunt

 

Fact or Fiction

  1. The Iwo Jima Memorial is also called the Japanese War Memorial.

  2. The famous picture of the raising of the flag was taken by Felix W. deWeldon.

  3. The statue is cast in copper.

  4. The memorial's base is made of Scottish granite.

  5. Money for the memorial was donated by the public.

  6. The National Park Service administers the Iwo Jima Memorial.

Answers to Fact or Fiction

 

Information about the Iwo Jima

            The Iwo Jima Memorial, which is also known as the Marine Corps War Memorial, depicts one of the most famous World War II incidents and is dedicated to all marines that have given their lives in the defense of our country since 1775. 

            The tiny island of Iwo Jima lies about 660 miles south of Tokyo, Japan.  In February 1945, U.S. troops had recaptured most of the land taken by the Japanese several years earlier.  Iwo Jima remained uncaptured which became one of America's primary objectives.  Many people lost their lives in the battle to capture the tiny island.

           A news photographer took a picture of an American flag being raised, and when the picture was released, sculptor Felix W. deWeldon, who was on duty with the U.S. Navy, saw the picture and was so moved by it that he constructed a scale model and then a life-sized model.  Gagnon, Hayes, and Bradley, the three survivors of the flag raising (the others were killed in other phases of the battle), posed for deWeldon so he could sculpt their faces.  The others were sculpted from any information that could be found about their features.    MVC-007F.JPG (123555 bytes)

            Once the statue was completed in plaster, it was disassembled and taken to Brooklyn, New York, so that it could be cast in bronze.  The memorial's casting process, which required the work of very skilled and experienced artisans, took nearly three years to complete.  After the parts were cast, cleaned, finished, and chased, they were carefully reassembled and brought back to Washington, D.C.  The Iwo Jima Memorial was twelve separate pieces and the largest piece weighed more than twenty tons.  Once the parts were transported to Washington, D.C., they were bolted and welded together and preserved.

            The people on the statue are thirty-two feet high, and the flagpole is sixty feet high with a cloth American flag that flies twenty-four hours a day.  The figures occupy the same positions as the famous photograph: Hayes is farthest from the flag staff; Sousley is to the right front of Hayes; Strank is to the left of Sousley; Bradley is in front of Sousley; Gagnon is in front of Strank; and Block is the closest figure to the flag staff.  The rock slope on which the figures are mounted makes the figure a total of seventy-eight feet tall.  

            The memorial's base is made of Swedish granite.  The names and dates of every Marine Corps engagement since the founding of the Corps are burnished in gold on the granite.

            The entire cost to build the statue was $850,000, which was all donated by United States Marines, former Marines, Marine Corps Reservists, friends of the Marine Corps, and members of the Naval Service.  Public funds were not used for the memorial.  The National Park Service and the United States Department of the Interior administer the memorial.


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Answers

Answer to Math Word Problem.

  1. Beginning Area = 12.5 miles
    Final Area = 100

  2. Island = 1%
    Water = 99%

  3. Sousley

    3

    Hayes

    6

    Strank

    5

    Gagnon

    4

    Block

    1

    Bradley

    2

     

     

     

Return to questions


Answers to Scavenger Hunt

  1. The nation's esteem for the honored dead of the U.S. Marine Corps

  2. 660; Tokyo

  3. Japanese

  4. Joe Rosenthal

  5. Gagnon; Hayes; Bradley

  6. Nearly 3 years

  7. 32 feet

  8. 6

  9. U.S. Marines, former Marines, Marine Corps Reservists, friends of the Marine Corps, and members of the Naval Service

  10. "Uncommon Valor was a Common Virtue."

Return to questions

Answers to Fact and Fiction

  1. False. It is called the Marine Corps War Memorial.

  2. True.

  3. False. It is cast in bronze.

  4. False. The base is made of Swedish granite.

  5. False. Public donations were not accepted. U.S. Marines, former Marines, Marine Corps Reservists, friends of the Marine Corps, and members of the Naval Service donated the entire cost.
  6. True
 

Return to questions

 

Citation

Hitchcock, J.A.. "World War II - Iwo Jima." 03 Feb 2004. <http://www.jahitchcock.com/iwojima.html>.

"U.S.M.C War Memorial." National Park Service. Department of the Interior.       <http://www.nps.gov/gwmp/usmc.htm> 03 Feb 2004.