Hidden Gems of North-Central Connecticut

NEW BRITAIN, CT — As the United States honors its fallen war heroes this Memorial Day weekend, the latest installment of a periodic series on Patch sites in north-central Connecticut highlighting "hidden gems" throughout the region features a small park on the New Britain/Newington line which commemorates one of the most critical battles of World War II.

The Iwo Jima Survivors Memorial Park was dedicated on Feb. 23, 1995, on the 50th anniversary of the historic flag raising by American Marines atop Mount Suribachi on the Pacific island of Iwo Jima. The moment was captured in a Pulitzer Prize-winning photograph by Joe Rosenthal of the Associated Press, which is now in the public domain and is shown below.

Dedicated to the memory of the 6,821 U.S. servicemen who gave their lives at Iwo Jima, the monument contains the names of the 100 men from Connecticut who lost their lives in the battle, inscribed on the base. An eternal flame also shines at the park.

Located on Ella Grasso Boulevard, just off exit 29 from Route 9 (the Iwo Jima Memorial Expressway), the park is open year-round. Admission is free.

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This series features out-of-the-way mom and pop restaurants, small specialty stores you may have never heard of, little-known historical markers or beautiful nature spots that may be a bit off the beaten path. Do you have a favorite "hidden gem" in the area that you wish to see featured in this column? Email your ideas to tim.jensen@patch.com.

Other columns in this series:

• Academy Hall
• Southington Drive-In
• Little Theatre of Manchester at Cheney Hall
• Somersvillage Gifts & Gourmet Baskets
• New England Civil War Museum
• The Pinchot Sycamore
• Stafford Palace Theater
• Mansfield Hollow State Park
• Old Tolland County Jail and Museum
• Hill-Stead Museum
• Mark's Restaurant