Near Marine Corps Base Quantico in Virginia, the iconic statue on Sulphur Island was vandalized with a sledgehammer, leading to the arrest of a suspect.
According to an announcement posted on Thursday (October 22) on the website of the Prince William County Police Department, officers responded to a report of property damage around 10:13 p.m. on Wednesday at the intersection of Richmond Highway and Fuller Road in Quantico.
Upon arrival, officers found the suspect actively damaging the statue and promptly arrested him.
Preliminary investigations identify the suspect as 27-year-old Miguel Alonso Maldonado Soriano from Stafford, Virginia. Fox News reports, citing federal sources, that the man is an illegal Mexican immigrant who was previously a beneficiary of the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program but lost his status this year.
Maldonado Soriano faces charges of felony property damage, unauthorized entry with intent to damage property, and felony monument desecration. He is currently in custody with no bail allowed, and a court date has not been announced. The motive behind the crime has not been disclosed by the authorities.
The limestone sculpture sustained significant damage, with the head of one Marine Corps member completely smashed. Another figure’s helmet and face show evident chisel marks, and the bayonet on the rifle of a third person was also damaged.
Repair costs are estimated to be in the tens of thousands of dollars.
Standing at 9 feet tall, the sculpture depicts the iconic moment during the 1945 Battle of Iwo Jima when U.S. forces raised the American flag on Mount Suribachi.
“Raising the Flag on Iwo Jima” is one of the most iconic photographs of World War II. Captured by Associated Press war correspondent Joe Rosenthal on February 23, 1945, during the Battle of Iwo Jima in the Pacific War, the photo records six American soldiers struggling to erect the American flag at the peak of Mount Suribachi on Iwo Jima’s southern tip.
This smaller memorial is located near the entrance of Marine Corps Base Quantico, close to the National Museum of the Marine Corps.
The sculpture’s creator, Felix de Weldon, also crafted the larger bronze Marine Corps War Memorial in Arlington, Virginia.
Marine Corps Base Quantico, in northern Virginia, has long served as a center for military training and education. In 2001, a portion of the base was listed on the National Register of Historic Places, including this statue.