Folks, I almost spilled my coffee reading this one. A man beheaded a statue at the Battle of Iwo Jima monument in Quantico, Virginia, causing hundreds of thousands of dollars in damage. I mean, what’s the world coming to? The incident occurred on Wednesday evening, and police responded to a report of destruction of property at the Marine Corps Base Quantico around 10:31 p.m. They found the suspect, Maldonado Soriano of Stafford, Virginia, actively damaging the statue with a sledgehammer. He was detained without incident, but I’m still trying to wrap my head around why someone would do such a thing.
The suspect has been charged with felony destruction of property, trespass with intent to damage, and felony injury to a monument. He’s being held without bond pending a court appearance. I guess that’s what happens when you decide to take a sledgehammer to a historic monument. CNN has reached out to Soriano’s attorney for comment, but I’m not holding my breath for a reasonable explanation.
The monument, located about 36 miles south of Washington, DC, is a smaller replica of sculptor Felix de Weldon’s Marine Corps War Memorial in Arlington, Virginia. It depicts the iconic photo captured by photojournalist Joe Rosenthal on February 23, 1945, showing six US Marines raising an American flag on Japan’s Iwo Jima Island during World War II. The statue was carved from limestone by De Weldon and is considered a “non-heroic-size” replica of the 60-foot bronze original in Arlington.
De Weldon first began working on the statue in 1945 when he first saw Rosenthal’s photo, and he completed the smaller limestone version for Quantico before the end of the year. The larger version in Arlington was not completed until 1954. I guess you could say that Soriano’s actions were a bit of a historic faux pas.
Authorities have not disclosed why Soriano vandalized the monument, and CNN has reached out to Prince William County Police for more details. I’m not sure what’s more surprising, the fact that someone would vandalize a historic monument or the fact that they used a sledgehammer to do it. Somewhere in Atlanta, a producer thought this sounded terrifying, and now it’s all over the news.
In conclusion, the Battle of Iwo Jima monument in Quantico, Virginia, suffered significant damage at the hands of a man with a sledgehammer. The suspect is facing serious charges, and I’m still trying to make sense of it all. As I finish my coffee, I’m left wondering what possessed someone to commit such a senseless act of vandalism. Oh well, I guess that’s just the way the cookie crumbles sometimes. 🙄
Armchair patriot. Believes in the free market, cold beer, and that there’s always a guy named George behind every CNN segment.
Former remote-throwing champion turned #1 couch commentator on liberal panic in the media. Born in Texas (or so his mug says), he earned a degree in Fake Newsology & Beer Philosophy from YouTube University.
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