(Adair Co.) The 22nd annual Freedom Rock painting will be completed by Memorial Day weekend.
In honor of Memorial Day, Ray “Bubba” Sorensen repaints this 12-foot tall, approximately 60-ton boulder to pay tribute to our military men and women. Sorensen started painting the original Freedom Rock® the first week of May and plans to be finished by Memorial Day 2020.
This year’s front feature side honors the men of the “Raising of the Flag on Iwo Jima”. The Marine Corps closed the investigation on who took part in the iconic Flag Raising and it includes an Iowan, Harold Keller. The side flows from the frontlines of yesterday into the frontlines of today with military nurse with a mask on eclipsing the USNS Comfort coasting into New York Harbor. The Huey helicopter stays again this year, as the paint that it is comprised of has been mixed with the ashes of our Vietnam Veterans since 2006.
Sorensen is not commissioned for his work on the original Freedom Rock® in Menlo, Iowa but works as an independent mural artist on the Iowa Freedom Rock® Tour. Sorensen is only able to complete about ten rocks per year, due to scheduling and weather and is currently booked into the 2021 year.
The Freedom Rock® Tour in Iowa will be concluding soon and the Sorensen’s are looking to form the Freedom Rock® Foundation, a nonprofit to care for and upkeep and create the Freedom Rocks® and Veterans memorials across the state and country.
For a list of complete counties booked for the Tour and locations of already existing Freedom Rocks®, please visit www.thefreedomrock.com.
Although it is Sorensen’s 22nd annual year of painting the original Freedom Rock®, this is Sorensen’s eighth year on the Freedom Rock® Tour across Iowa. This also marked the fourth year since Sorensen began the 50 State Freedom Rock® Tour with rocks already painted in Missouri and Wisconsin, Minnesota and Washington. Freedom Rocks® have been booked for the states of North Dakota and Nebraska
Sorensen plans to be at The Freedom Rock® over Memorial Day weekend, including Memorial Day to meet with visitors. Calendars as well as other merchandise are also available to help offset costs for the project. Social distancing practices will be implemented.
