The guest speaker at the January meeting of the Veterans of the Glen was Michael Geml, a Cape Coral resident and banker. In 1980, while on a property assessment look into the derelict Rose Garden, which had been closed since 1970, Geml came across what looked like the famous Iwo Jima flag raising monument by Felix de Weldon. The sculpture was badly damaged and covered with graffiti. Even in this condition, Geml thought it should be salvaged.
Geml arranged for the monument to be moved to his bank’s parking lot on Viscaya Parkway. From his research into the history of this work, he learned the Rosen brothers, Cape Coral developers, brought the statue to their Rose Garden in the 1950s to be a tourist attraction and to help sell property. More information led him to believe the sculpture was not a replica. Instead, it could be one of the original three identical monuments inspired by the photo taken by war correspondent Joe Rosenthal and created by Felix de Weldon.
Curiosity and the resulting national publicity surrounding this find reached Felix de Weldon, who came to Cape Coral to see for himself. His reaction upon seeing the condition of the sculpture was to fall to his knees and cry, “What have they done to my children?” De Weldon and his associate agreed to restore the sculpture. Fortunately, the original molds existed and by May 1981, they returned to Cape Coral to repair the sculpture. Its authenticity established, Geml wanted this national treasure to be displayed in a place to honor veterans.
Unfortunately, Hurricane Charlie once again caused serious damage to the monument. This time, a community led foundation and the city raised the funds to once again restore the sculpture. Today, it can be seen and admired in Cape Coral’s Veterans Memorial Park.
Michael Geml’s nearly 20 years of dedication and tireless effort to save the Iwo Jima sculpture and to verify its authenticity has resulted in a priceless gift to the community of one of the three original sculptures created by Felix de Weldon. The others are located on the Marine base on Paris Island, S.C., and in Washington, D.C.
As a part of the brief business meeting, President Bruce Johnson announced Chuck Rimlinger as the new Member-at-Large on the VOG Board. Johnson then requested a VOG Honor Guard to appear at the opening ceremonies of the Herons Glen Member-Guest golf tournament. He also encouraged members to wear red on Fridays in honor of veterans.
The Veterans of the Glen meet on the second Wednesday of the month at 7 p.m. All resident military veterans are welcome.
