WWII Heirloom Art Comes to Town Hall
- Philip Thibodeau
- 1 day ago
- 2 min read
Updated: 6 hours ago
The office of Town Manager Alex Ricciardone fields many requests from local residents asking for help with everyday municipal problems.
But a call he received recently from Dorinda Hultgren led to something a bit more uplifting.
“After the call, she came in and brought in a photo of a wall hanging that showed the flag raising on Mt. Suribachi on Iwo Jima during WWII,” Ricciardone said at Friday’s dedication ceremony for the artwork. “It was made by her grandmother. It was absolutely gorgeous craftsmanship, very intricate, and a beautiful testament to our town. We’re grateful to her and her family for lending it to us for a year, and we hope, long term, that you let us keep it here.”
As she stood in front of the framed piece, just outside of the tax payment office in town hall, Hultgren told the story of her grandmother, Mabel Miller. Miller was born in 1904 and lived most of her life in Southington on a farm on Marion Avenue. She operated a homestead crafts store from her house, and was active in Southington’s Historical Society and Arts & Crafts Society. She spent much of her time creating art - everything from pictures of flowers to rugs to porcelain dolls.
In 1953, Miller was inspired by the famous photo of the Iwo Jima flag raising to create a replica of it. Starting with a piece of wool fabric, she hand-dyed it, cut it into strips, and hooked it into a burlap backing.
Hultgren said that her mother, Miller’s daughter, had kept it in a frame for many years. She decided to share it with the community in order to remind people of the sacrifice of prior generations.
The photo that inspired the artwork was taken on February 23, 1945 by Associated Press photographer Joe Rosenthal. It shows six US Marines raising an American flag on the peak of Mt. Suribachi on the Japanese island of Iwo Jima. The month-long battle for control of the island led to over 26,000 American casualties, out of an invasion force of about 70,000; on the Japanese side, 21,000 of the 22,000 defenders were killed.
Three of the six Marines shown in the photo, Corporal Harlon Block, Private Franklin Sousley, and Sergeant Michael Strank, were later killed in action during the battle. Corporals Ira Hayes, Harold Keller, and Harold Schultz survived.
Due to the confusion of battle, Rosenthal did not record the names of the flag raisers, and Keller and Strank are hard to make out behind their companions. Hayes, Sousley, and Strank were correctly identified as participants, but it was not until 2019 that the names of the other three were finally confirmed. Miller’s wall hanging gives the names as they were known in 1953.
Hultgren thanked Victoria Triano, Diann Thompson, and Kathleen Hopko for their encouragement and advice in finding a home for the picture. The frame for the piece was arranged for by Parks and Highways Superintendent David Lapreay.
