Muralist depicts iconic Iwo Jima image on Marine Corps veteran's garage door

ELYRIA — Algie Nelson's home off Middle Avenue has long served as a testament to his service and his beloved U.S. Marine Corps, but thanks to a local muralist it now shares its message in a more striking, artistic way. Last week, Mike Sekletar completed a mural on the garage door of Nelson's home depicting the iconic image of Marines planting an American flag on Iwo Jima. To the left of the intricately painted men raising the flag are the initials "USMC" and to their right is the Marine Corps motto, "Semper Fi." Semper fi is a shortening of the Latin phrase semper fidelis, meaning "always faithful." Nelson's home at the corner of Middle Avenue and Nelson Street (a coincidence, despite Nelson's oft repeated joke that he made the city change it) already proudly touted his love for the Marines and his country before the new mural. The garage had previously read USMC and a smaller secondary garage door is emblazoned with the Marine Corps sigil, not to mention the home's overall red, white and blue appearance and large flag pole in the yard, carrying an American flag. About three weeks ago, Nelson said he decided that he wanted to upgrade the art on his garage door. "I said, you know, I want something that's going to attract more," Nelson said. "I am very proud of my time in the Marine Corps, and I said I have go to get something more." After contacting another local muralist who already had a booked schedule, Nelson said he was referred to Sekletar, who jumped at the chance. Sekletar said he initially imagined an American flag on the garage with a saluting soldier, the words Semper Fi and a silhouette of Iwo Jima, but Nelson decided he wanted to focus on Iwo Jima. "Once I showed him the design he was like, 'Yep, that's the one right there,'" Sekletar said. The iconic "Raising the Flag on Iwo Jima" photograph was shot by Associated Press photographer Joe Rosenthal on Feb. 23, 1945. Rosenthal captured six Marines raising an American flag fastened to a destroyed water pipe atop Mount Suribachi on Iwo Jima, during the brutal battle for the island during the latter stages of the Pacific theater of World War II. Sekletar is no stranger to depicting the historic scene. In fact, the first large public mural he ever painted was the two-story depiction of the scene he painted in downtown Amherst in 2011. The now-famous mural served as the first in a series that Sekletar would paint next to what would later become Patriots Park, where smaller rotating murals are now unveiled every year on Veterans Day. "I've studied the picture more than I think anyone else on Earth, I'm not even kidding," Sekletar said. "The original is black and white, and there's all different stuff the guys are wearing and it's hard to see with all the rubble. So I was constantly making printouts of small areas, or in this case I was using my phone a lot. … When people see it, you know what it is." Sekletar said he has also gotten a lot of practice painting murals on garage doors, something he said has become increasingly popular in recent years. "It just started catching on in the last few years and I love doing it. I mean, there's no ladders involved," Sekletar said with a laugh. "I love doing garage doors, it's cool and it's such a statement. This is the best one I've ever done, by far." Born and raised in Elyria, Nelson joined the Marine Corps in 1980 and attended sniper school in Okinawa, Japan, training as a marksman. From there, Nelson became a marksmanship trainer, serving at Marine Corps Recruit Depot on Parris Island before transferring to the same role at North Carolina's Marine Corps Base Camp Lejeune in 1983. During his time in the Marines, Nelson said he had developed a taste for the South, and so when he retired from the military he moved to Virginia and joined the Norfolk Police Department, where he served for 26 years. It was during that time that Nelson discovered he had been a victim of the infamous Camp Lejeune water contamination. Between 1953 and 1987, around 1 million military and civilian personnel at and near the camp were exposed to drinking water contaminated with industrial solvents from dry cleaning waste and benzenes from leaking underground fuel storage tanks. People exposed to this water are known to have developed various types of cancer, Parkinson's disease and other health issues, according to the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs. In Nelson's case, the contaminated water damaged his kidneys, and he had to undergo a kidney transplant. The new kidney was provided by Nelson's sister, Helen, who served in the Air Force for 27 years. "She gave me a kidney," Nelson said. "I want to say I took the kidney since I'm a Marine and she's in the Air Force, but I'm gonna give her her props, she gave it to me." After recovering, Nelson worked in corrections in Chesapeake, Virginia, for 15 years before retiring and finally moving back to Elyria. "I'm retired and I'm doing nothing but relaxing right now," Nelson said. Despite the illness he developed at Camp Lejeune, Nelson said that he had nothing but love for his time in the Marines and the exterior of his home serves as a way for him to remember that time and honor the Corps. After Sekletar began working on the garage, Nelson went out of town for a few days. Sekletar said he shared pictures to keep Nelson updated on the work, but stopped once it neared completion, wanting the finished product to be a surprise when Nelson returned. "It was beautiful," Nelson said. "... When I turned that corner I said, 'That's it.'" Sekletar said that he was happy to have the opportunity to bring the painting to life, but that it was even more rewarding to get to know Nelson and hear his story. "I am honored to have him as my new friend and he's just been a great client," Sekletar said. "I'm sure we're going to hang out again, maybe for a barbecue or a Browns game." Contact Owen MacMillan at (440) 329-7123 or omacmillan@chroniclet.com.