Quantico’s Iwo Jima Memorial Defaced

QUANTICO, Va. — A pink line spray painted on an iconic statue is getting a lot of attention today.

The Iwo Jima statue that stands outside the main gate at Qauntico Marine Corps Base was defaced Tuesday night.

Now base officials and police are looking into who is behind the vandalism.

More in a statement from Quantico spokesman Lt. Augustin Solivan:

Vandals Tuesday evening defaced the Iwo Jima Monument outside the main gate at Marine Corps Base Quantico by spray painting a four-inch line of paint around half of the base of the iconic statue.

Military police immediately notified Prince William County police and canvassed the area. Police were unable to discover who might have vandalized the famous Felix De Weldon sculpture of the flag raising on Mount Suribachi during the World War II Battle of Iwo Jima.

Base officials are consulting with monument specialists in the National Capital Region on the best way to remove the paint without damaging the stone base upon which the monument sits.

This incident is under investigation.

A similar, larger memorial stands at Arlington National Cemetery. The National Museum of the Marine Corps building is also modeled after this iconic sculpture.

In recent years, Prince William County and base officials have discussed moving the statue into the center of what would be a round-about along U.S. 1 – effectively removing a traffic signal at the six lane highway and Joplin Road. Those discussions have not resulted in solid plans for construction, however.