Iron Mike Statue
Fayetteville, North Carolina
"Iron Mike" is the nickname of a 16-foot-tall statue of a U.S. paratrooper who has apparently just landed on a big pile of rocks. He was built in 1961 partly of steel (which is made from iron). For decades he stood at the 18th Airborne Corps entrance to Fort Bragg. Then he got rusty and was removed in 2005. After five years of restoration work, Iron Mike was returned -- but 12 miles away, in downtown Fayetteville, where he now stands outside the Airborne and Special Operations Museum.
The spot formerly occupied by Original Iron Mike is now home to Replica Iron Mike, who stands on a less-impressive pile of rocks. The replica is the same size as the original, but it's made of bronze, which has no iron in it.