Memorial to Honor Fallen Task Force Ironhorse Troops
By Donna Miles
AFPS
|
A
statue commissioned by Task Force Ironhorse will form a
focal point for a new memorial to task force soldiers killed
in Iraq.
Courtesy
photo
|
A bronze statue
of a soldier mourning a fallen comrade traveled from Tikrit, Iraq,
to Fort Hood, Texas, this week to become the focal point of a memorial
to the soldiers of Task Force Ironhorse who have died during Operation
Iraqi Freedom.
The statue
arrived at Fort Hood’s Robert Gray Army Airfield Feb. 16, along
with the first 60 soldiers in the task force to redeploy from
Iraq, said Capt. Charles Armstrong, secretary of the general staff
for the rear detachment.
Armstrong
said the statue will be moved today to a 4th Infantry Division
storage site as preparations for the memorial continue. Groundbreaking
is expected to take place within the next two weeks, he said.
Task Force
Ironhorse soldiers donated the $18,000 to cover the cost of the
statue, created by an Iraqi sculptor from the melted-down remnants
of statues he had been forced to sculpt for former dictator Saddam
Hussein, said Maj. Josslyn Aberle, public affairs officer for
the 4th Infantry Division at its Iraq headquarters in Tikrit.
The 4th Infantry
Division at Fort Hood is raising private contributions to cover
the $60,000 cost of the larger memorial project, Aberle said.
The Ironhorse
statue depicts a soldier kneeling before a memorial of boots,
rifle and helmet. With him stands a young Iraqi girl with her
hand reaching out to touch the shoulder of the mourning soldier.
Army 1st Sgt.
Glen Simpson, former first sergeant for Headquarters and Headquarters
Company, posed for the picture used to create the statue.
"The
memorial will recognize those brave Ivy Division soldiers that
have made the supreme sacrifice in the service of our nation during
Operation Iraqi Freedom," said Ted Kostich, president of
the Ironhorse Chapter of the National 4th Infantry Division Association
of Fort Hood.
Aberle said
84 Ironhorse soldiers have been killed in Iraq.
To donate
funds for the memorial, write: Ironhorse Chapter of the National
4th Infantry Division Association, PO Box 5009, Fort Hood, TX
76544.