A replica of the Marine Corps War Memorial returned Highway 178 and Commanche Drive in northeast Bakersfield to mark the 73rd anniversary of the victory at Iwo Jima during World War II.

Veterans Services Director Dick Taylor says the artist is a retired Marine who hopes the image of Marines raising the flag becomes a history lesson. The anonymous artist has put up the plywood statue almost every year for the past decade.

Kelli Pierce

(Photo courtesy of Dick Taylor)