Access to Iwo Jima Memorial Park limited during construction

Access to the Iwo Jima Memorial Park site is currently restricted due to construction, which isn’t set to be completed until early 2023.

John Karafa, president of the park’s board of directors, said there are several park components, such as the installation of the memorial statue, paving, landscaping and more, that need to be completed before the park opens.

Currently, the anticipation is that the opening will occur in late February 2023 at the earliest.

“It has to be (closed off) because it’s an active construction site,” he said. “... Right now, we’ve got to maintain control of access and eliminate any kind of vehicles coming in.”

The site, located at 1620 Jamestown Road, is currently blocked off by a barricade at the entrance and surrounded by a temporary silt fence.

Karafa said that the site has also experienced some issues with vandalism, including graffiti sprayed on the concrete base where the statue will be installed and some surrounding trees as well as removal of signs and a construction entrance barrier.

“The only way we can control it is by keeping the construction site as secured as best we can,” he said.

According to the park’s website, the site plan includes a “passive linear trail system” throughout the park, with Americans with Disabilities Act-compliant accessible routes to the crest of the hill, where a replica of the Marine Corps War Memorial in Washington, D.C., will sit overlooking Jamestown Road. The memorial depicts the moment six Marines raised a U.S. flag during the Battle of Iwo Jima.

The proposed park will honor all branches of service.

The land was donated by Cliff Guertin, who maintained a memorial for combat veterans on the hill for more than 20 years. In 2020, a board of directors was formed, and the group established the park as a 501(c)(3) nonprofit to begin fundraising.

Sian Wilkerson, sian.wilkerson@pilotonline.com, 757-342-6616