One of a possibly 3 or 4 plaster maquettes made up by de Weldon soon after the original wax model was taken up by the Marines Corps. The new plaster maquettes were probably sculptured between March and June 1945, in the period that he was awaiting to be given the studio he needed and before he was proscribed the help that was essential for the construction of the monument. They were more durable than the wax one done on the weekend of February 23-26, and they were used not only in his studio as he modeled the monument but, also to show, potential supporters for his project, what the monument might look like. It is interesting to note the position of the men in the exact form of the Rosenthal photograph and the large lump of clay at the front of the maquette. One of the plaster maquettes was given to President Truman, soon after he was shown the wax model with Joe Rosenthal in early June 1945. That maquette is now at the Harry S. Truman Library and Museum, Independence, Missouri.
Height 48 in. (121.9 cm.)