Tuesday, February 15 – We headed back to Progreso, MX this morning for Marsha's final dental visit. It was suppose to be a short time in the dentist's chair, so we had additional sightseeing plans.
Well, our plans didn't pan out as expected. Of course, there were delays at the dentist, and we didn't leave Mexico until after 1 p.m. Since we were only ten miles from Harlingen, TX ,we decided to go see a couple sites.
Our first stop was the Iwo Jima Museum and Monument.
Easy Company had been fighting 4 days. They had 40% casualties to date. On February 23rd, 1945 they were raising this flag on Mt. Suribachi when photographer Joe Rosenthal shot this the most reproduced photograph in history.
This is really neat! We saw it lit up at night the evening Marsha flew in from Ohio and wanted to go back during the day for a closer inspection. The Iwo Jima Monument is the original full-sized creation of the renowned artist and sculptor, Dr. Felix de Weldon, and was used for the casting of the monument erected at Arlington Cemetery outside Washington, D.C.
After completion of the monument in Washington, this sculpture was placed in storage until the early 1980's when it was donated to the Marine Military Academy in Harlingen, Texas by its creator.
The Marine at the base of the flag pole is Harlon H. Block. He is from Weslaco, TX, which is the neighboring city of Harlingen. Just six days after the flag raising, Block was killed along with two other Marines that helped hoist the flag. Marine Block is buried next to the Memorial.
It is amazing. We toured the museum and watched a video on the Battle of Iwo Jima. This is a nice stop. We recommend to anyone in the RGV.
Our next stop was in the city of Harlingen. They have over a dozen murals scattered through out the city.
Celebrating 30 Years Of LUV
The Early Days
The History of Mexico and Mankind
Tropical Playground Of Texas
Golden Age Of Hollywood and Mexican Cinema
The murals were nicely done. Only suggestion I would make it to prohibit parking in front of them. It seemed like there was always one big pickup truck parked smack in the middle....GOSH!
Arrived back to the MH about 5:00, just in time for the news. Watched American Idol and called it a day.
Thanks for stopping by. Hope to see y’all back real soon. Have a great day!
