Monument to U.S. Marines

Officially this monument is named "Monument to U.S. Marines" but is better known to generations of Marines that were trained on Parris Island as "Iron Mike." A February 1923 newspaper article referred to it as the "Devil Dog Statue" and as late as June 30, 1942, a depot map listed the statue as the "Aitken Monument." The money was raised to pay for the statue by the officers and men in small amounts to honor the Parris Island Marines who died in World War 1. Iron Mike is an eight foot tall statue with a pistol pointed at the sky and a machine gun slung over his shoulder. Inscribed on the front of the statue is: "IN MEMEORY OF THE MEN OF PARRIS ISLAND WHO GAVE THEIR LIVES IN THE WORLD WAR." "ERECTED BY THEIR COMRADES."