FORT PIERCE, Fla. — Sixteen welding students at Indian River State College built a sculpture honoring the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier ahead of Memorial Day and in celebration of America's 250th anniversary.
The piece was constructed entirely by students from the ground up using repurposed tools and parts that were cut, bent and welded together.
WATCH BELOW: IRSC students weld Tomb of the Unknown Soldier sculpture for America's 250th
The sculpture is packed with detail. Students used wire bent to resemble shoelaces and incorporated 50 stars into a belt featured on the piece.
The project was especially meaningful to Marvin Martin, a Marine veteran and welding student.
"It shows 250 years of sacrifice that's been made," Martin said. "Honoring those that never came home."
Welding student Deneka Findlay said the fabrication process required the team to think carefully about structure throughout the build.
"We as welders had to deal with fabrication so — and that's just like putting everything together making sure it was structurally sound," Findlay said.
Welding instructor Walt Posten said the project pushed students beyond what they had previously experienced in the classroom.
"It put them in situations they hadn't gotten the opportunity to be in yet, but also pushed them pretty much to their limit. I would say after this, there's nothing they'd run into in a shop that they didn't see in this project," Posten said.
The sculpture will be permanently displayed at the college's main campus in Fort Pierce.
"It just felt so good to know that we were able to create something like that, that touched so many people," Findlay said.
The sculpture stands about 9 feet tall and measures roughly 7 feet wide.
The school said that with the addition of the two stainless steel flags at the top—the 1776 flag on the left and the current U.S. flag on the right—the total height reaches 12.5 feet. In total, the piece weighs approximately 1,000 pounds and is constructed entirely from stainless steel.
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