A Stafford, Virginia man is behind bars after allegedly taking a sledgehammer to a limestone Iwo Jima memorial near Marine Corps Base Quantico, knocking the head clean off one of the sculpted Marines and leaving behind what police say will cost hundreds of thousands of dollars to fix.
Prince William County Police responded around 10:13 p.m. Wednesday, Oct. 21, to reports of vandalism at the statue near Richmond Highway and Fuller Road in Quantico. When officers arrived, they say Miguel Alonso Maldonado Soriano, 27, was still swinging the sledgehammer at the monument.
Officers took him into custody on the spot. The damage they found was extensive: one Marine figure lost its head entirely, another sustained gouges across the helmet and face, and a third figure’s bayonet, attached to a rifle slung over the shoulder, was also damaged, according to police.
The monument is a 9-foot limestone sculpture depicting the famous flag-raising atop Mount Suribachi during the 1945 Battle of Iwo Jima, sculpted by Felix de Weldon, the same artist behind the massive bronze Marine Corps War Memorial in Arlington. It stands near the entrance to Quantico, close to the National Museum of the Marine Corps.
Maldonado Soriano now faces three felony and misdemeanor charges: felony destruction of property, trespassing with intent to damage property, and felony injury to a monument. He is being held without bond, and no court date has been set.
Police have not released a motive for the attack, and it remains unclear whether the statue can be restored.
Quantico has long served as a major Marine Corps training and education hub. Part of the installation was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 2001 as the Quantico Marine Corps Base Historic District, which covers 122 buildings, two landscapes, a water tower, and a sculpture.
