Lima Co. Memorial leaving Statehouse, headed to Cincinnati Museum Center.

[jagr]

http://www.dispatch.com/live/content/local_news/stories/2008/11/09/limavets.html?type=rss&cat=&sid=101

Lima Co. memorial leaving Statehouse

Visitors' mementos accent tribute to fallen troops

Sunday, November 9, 2008 8:49 PM

By Alan Johnson

THE COLUMBUS DISPATCH

COURTNEY HERGESHEIMER | DISPATCH

Kuanting Wang, 26, of Detroit, stopped by the Lima County memorial in the Statehouse Rotunda on Friday, during her vacation.

I stopped and watched as he walked away

His last words: "Mom, I'll be back."

He went to Iraq to fight

For peace and freedom we know is right.

Unfortunately, Cpl. Andre "Dre" L. Williams never returned home to Galloway. Williams, 23, was killed by enemy fire in Cykla, Iraq, on July 28, 2005.

American Hero, a poem that his mother wrote and placed in a desert-camouflage frame emblazoned with a U.S. Marine Corps symbol, is one of dozens of mementos left behind at the Lima Company Memorial at the Statehouse Rotunda.

Some notes are brief, such as the one left for Staff Sgt. Anthony L. Goodwin, 33, of Shirley, Mass., who was killed in action on May 8, 2005.

I was here, buddy

Love you,

Heather

Semper Fi

Sgt. Baughman left a message for Petty Officer 3rd Class Travis L. Youngblood, 26, of Ivor, Va., who died on July 21, 2005.

The gates of Heaven are safer with you there.

Some people left cards, such as the one left for Lance Cpl. Jourdan Lin Grez, 24, of Richmond, Va., who was killed by an insurgent's bomb on May11, 2005, in Al Qa'im, Iraq.

We miss you so very, very much. Of course, you know how very proud we are of you. Keep sending butterflies.

All my love, Aunt Carral.

The exhibition of life-size paintings honoring 22 Marines and a Navy corpsman from Lima Co. 3rd Battalion, 25th Marine Regiment, 4th Marine Division, who were killed in Iraq will leave the Statehouse after Tuesday, Veterans Day, having been on display since Memorial Day. It will head to the Cincinnati Museum Center at Union Terminal for exhibition beginning Saturday and run until Jan. 4.

In addition to the paintings, the memorial includes information on the fallen men, candles, boots and space for visitors to leave mementos.

During the past few months, family members and friends of the fallen, as well as strangers, have left hundreds of items at the memorial: letters, photographs, poems, pennies, buckeyes, small stones, a Marine Corps teddy bear holding three American flags, an empty snuff box and a withered red rose.

Anita Miller, the Westerville artist who did the Lima Company paintings, said she was moved by the items left behind, including the medals, ribbons and other military objects. "That's a huge sacrifice. To me, it's a sign of great respect and personal honor.

"I've been so grateful for the reception at the Statehouse. It's been a profound experience, not just for the families, but for total strangers. A recurring theme is, 'Thank you for your service.'"

The mementos include several children's drawings of American flags, one with the words Marines Rock!

In addition to the letters and items left at the memorial is a Lima Company flag signed by hundreds of Marines.

RIP Brothers. Gone, but not forgotten.

In the memorial guestbook, some visitors added a few words to their signatures.

Courage we only dream of.

You are heroes. God bless you.

How many more before wisdom prevails?

One Marine simply wrote, Ooh-rah!

One of the most touching items left at the memorial is a letter written to his family by Lance Cpl. Wesley G. Davids, in case of his death. The 20-year-old from Dublin died on May 11, 2005, in Al Qa'im, Iraq.

I want you to know I don't fear death, and while I wish I could live out the rest of my life happily, I am proud to give my life in the name of Freedom I have never been more proud of myself than I am right now. I think I have finally found the key to happiness. Live your life the way that you can be proud of in everything you do. No regrets.

ajohnson@dispatch.com

Edited November 10, 2008 by jagr

[jagr]

i hate myself for not going to see this. I think i'll make a trip to Cinci. to view it.

[jagr]

http://coshoctontribune.com/article/20081115/NEWS01/811150321/1002/RSS01

CINCINNATI - Three-year-old Christian Kreuter will see a life-size image of the father he never had the chance to know when he and his mother make their first visit to a memorial honoring 23 Ohio-based service members killed in Iraq.

Christian's father, Sgt. David Kreuter of Miami Township in suburban Cincinnati, was one of the fallen members of Columbus-based Lima Company. The company - part of the 3rd Battalion, 25th Marine Regiment, 4th Marine Division - was devastated by attacks in Iraq, including a roadside bomb that killed nine Marines in 2005.

The life-size paintings of the 22 Marines and a Navy corpsman go on exhibit Saturday at the Cincinnati Museum Center after several months at the Ohio Statehouse.

Christian's mother, Chrystina Kreuter, said she was not ready to view the memorial in Columbus, but will take her son to Saturday's opening.

"Christian may not understand everything, but I think it's important that he has a chance to see this so he can look back one day and know he was a part of this and that so many people cared," said Kreuter, 28, of nearby Mason.

Kreuter said she saw the painting of her husband in artist Anita Miller's studio, and was amazed at how realistic it was, from the crinkle under his eye to the wedding band that she asked the artist to paint on his left hand.

"It was more than lifelike," she said. "It was such an emotional experience that I didn't think I was ready to go through that again, but I think I can do it now for Christian."

David Kreuter's sister, Kristin Kreuter, said she accompanied her parents and sister to the Columbus exhibition and said it was difficult to put the emotions she felt into words.

"We had seen the work in progress, but when you walk into the exhibit, you are looking at the Marines and they are looking at you," said Kristin Kreuter, 26, of Miami Township. "It's almost as if they all come to life. When you look at a photograph, you see the memory behind it, but when you see these paintings, it's almost as though my brother and the others are there in the moment."

Miller, the suburban Columbus artist who created the memorial, said that is what she hopes everyone will feel when they walk into the circle of Marines - most of them smiling and in relaxed poses with scenes from Iraq as a backdrop.

"My hope is that people will walk in with open hearts and really be able to connect with these men," said Miller. "I hope they appreciate that each of them received a personal gift from these men - men with names, families and a life of their own."

Miller said she didn't know the men but had been deeply affected by their deaths.

"My heart was torn for their families when I heard what happened, and a few months later I woke in the night and saw this vision of the memorial."

Miller, who lives in Worthington, has a small studio in Westerville. At first, she didn't think she could handle such a large project, but said she knew she had to continue once she started the drawings.

Miller extended her studio to add a large space to accommodate the eight 6-by-8-foot canvas panels.

Each panel features names and facts about the soldiers with a pair of combat boots and a candle in front of each painting. Visitors to the memorial also will see a video presentation of images of the soldiers in Iraq and a Marine flag signed by Marines.