Iron Mike -Belleau

IRON Mike - Belleau The Marine Memorial at Belleau Wood is often called Iron Mike, though its official title is simply The Marine Memorial. The monument stands inside the Aisne-Marne American Cemetery near the ground where the Marines of the 4th Marine Brigade fought in June 1918.
The sculpture was created by Felix Weihs de Weldon, the same artist who later designed the Marine Corps War Memorial in Arlington, Virginia. The figure depicts a Marine advancing with rifle and fixed bayonet through the forest of Belleau Wood.
What makes the statue striking is its realism. The Marine is shown bare-chested, a detail that reflects the brutal conditions of the battle. June 1918 brought oppressive heat inside the shattered woods. After days of continuous fighting, many Marines had stripped off their blouses while advancing and fighting through the dense trees. Supply lines struggled to keep up with the tempo of combat, and the men often fought while exhausted, dehydrated, and underfed.
De Weldon intentionally sculpted the Marine with a lean, almost gaunt frame, capturing the physical toll the battle took on the men who fought there. The figure appears hardened and worn, embodying the savage close combat that defined Belleau Wood.
The statue stands atop a four ton monolith of Bon Accord granite, the same stone used in the base of the Marine Corps War Memorial. The granite was quarried in Karlshamn, Sweden and transported to France for the monument. With the seven foot Marine figure above it, the entire memorial weighs roughly 9,000 pounds.
At its base is a bronze plaque bearing the Eagle, Globe and Anchor and a short history of the battle written in both English and French. The monument honors the Marines of the 5th and 6th Regiments of the 4th Marine Brigade who fought for twenty days in the forest during the Battle of Belleau Wood.
The memorial was dedicated on 18 November 1955. The ceremony was presided over by General Lemuel C. Shepherd Jr., Commandant of the Marine Corps, who had fought and been wounded in the battle thirty seven years earlier. Three other Marine generals who had also fought at Belleau Wood were present at the dedication, creating a rare gathering of senior Marines who had personally experienced the battle.
Belleau Wood was the bloodiest battle in Marine Corps history up to that time. For their actions there, the 5th and 6th Marine Regiments were awarded the French Croix de Guerre and authorized to wear the French Fourragère. In recognition of their sacrifice, the French government renamed the forest Bois de la Brigade de Marine.
Today the monument stands in the quiet of the forest where the fighting once raged. It remains the only memorial in Europe dedicated solely to United States Marines, honoring the men who fought through heat, hunger, exhaustion, and relentless machine gun fire to seize Belleau Wood.