James Q. Lynch, CR Gazette –
A Greenfield couple has won approval from the Iowa Department of Transportation to gather orders for a license plate featuring a red, white and blue image of the rock that has become something of a patriotic icon.
The rock, which sits about 1.5 miles south of Greenfield exit off of Interstate 80 on Iowa 25 in Adair County, has been capturing public attention since 1999. That’s when 19-year-old college student Ray “Bubba” Sorensen, inspired by the movie “Saving Private Ryan,” painted an Iwo Jima scene as a tribute to veterans.
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A mural painter, Sorensen paints a new scene on the 12-foot tall rock each May ahead of Memorial Day. Scenes have included Washington crossing the Delaware, the Vietnam Veterans Memorial and a POW/MIA flag.
“It was his way to say ‘thank you’ to veterans,” explained his wife, Maria.
The idea for putting Freedom Rock on license plates came to the couple while they were getting new license plates.
“We saw all of the different plates we could get and said to each other, ‘It would be cool to have the Freedom Rock – Iowa’s own thing – on a plate,” Maria Sorensen said. “So we talked to the ladies at the courthouse and they told us how.”
The DOT has given the Sorensens a year to get 500 paid orders for the plate. Once the orders have been received, the plates will be manufactured and issued, according to the DOT.
“Now we have a very big task ahead of us,” Sorensen said.
They get random orders in mail and have handed out application forms at the rock on Memorial Day weekend. There’s also a Facebook page.
