Harlingen, Texas
320 Iwo Jima Blvd.
GPS coordinates: 26.2228,-97.6681
Take a photo of your rally flag with the above image.

On February 23, 1945, five days after the Marines landed on the island of Iwo Jima, AP photographer Joe Rosenthal snapped the iconic image of five Marines and a Navy corpsman raising the flag that claimed victory over the tallest point of the island, Mt. Suribachi. The conquest of Mt. Suribachi was strategically important in the battle because the enemy had been using the vantage point to advise artillery fire. Victory over the rest of the island wouldn't come until 31 days later.

The flag-raising in the photo was not the first Stars and Stripes to fly there that day. Earlier, a flag was raised and upon seeing it, the Secretary of the Navy, who had been witnessing the battle, wanted to get it as a personal souvenir. When the Battalion Commander heard of that, he ordered his operations officer to retrieve the flag for the battalion and put up a replacement. As the lieutenant was leaving, he shouted, "And make it a bigger one!"

The Harlingen version is the original full-size plaster model, treated for preservation, that the famous Arlington Cemetery bronze sculpture was made from. It is dedicated to the memories of all fallen Marines hailing from South Texas, and is located at the Marines Maritime Academy.

At the base of the monument lies the body of Cpl. Harlon Block, Marines, formerly a resident of nearby Weslaco, and one of the raisers of the flag on Mt. Suribachi (Block was the soldier closest to the ground). Six days after the flag-raising, Block's squad came under fire on nearby Nishi Ridge where his Sergeant was killed. Block took over command of the squad, and was killed just a few hours later by a mortar blast.

Bonus stop: Adjacent to the monument is a museum dedicated to the history of the Battle of Iwo Jima.