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The
Afghanistan
/ Iraq War
Memorial Portrait Mural
NOW AVAILABLE FOR YOUR STATE
YOUR
BUSINESS CAN SPONSOR THE MURAL FOR YOUR STATE
AND BE RECOGNIZED FOR YOUR SUPPORT
PLEASE HELP BRING
OUR SOLDIERS HOME WITH HONOR
CALL
1-866-530-HERO (4376)

The Florida
Mural
The Texas Mural
199
SOLDIERS
411 SOLDIERS
WE HAVE SPENT THE LAST SEVERAL YEARS BUILDING A
COMPLETE DATA BASE OF ALL OF THE SOLDIERS NAMES
AND FULL COLOR PHOTOS AND
NOW .......
FOR THE FIRST TIME IN HISTORY
A MEMORIAL WALL SHOWING NOT ONLY THE NAMES
OF OUR FALLEN SOLDIERS
BUT THEIR FULL COLOR PHOTO..
BRINGING OUR SOLDIERS HOME WITH HONOR
ONE STATE AT A TIME
This is a video made by a
family of the unvailing of the Texas Memorial Portrait
Mural


Texas Fallen Heroes Memorial
The Texas Fallen Heroes
Memorial will be on display at Randolph Air Force Base in the
rotunda of Bldg. 100, the Taj Mahal, Monday from 9 a.m. to 4:30 p.m.
and Tuesday from 7:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. At 3 p.m. on Tuesday, the
base community will officially pay its respects to the Texas heroes
depicted on the memorial with a retreat ceremony featuring a
missing-man formation flyover of T-38 Talons.

TEXAS DISPLAY AT THE ALAMO

For the families of our
fallen heroes we have created a memorial plaque that has a duplicate
ceramic tile (just like the one used on the wall) mounted on the
plaque so that they might have a piece of the wall to keep.
These plaques are now available on line. Click on the plaque
to place your order.
 

This is what its all
about..Giving families the opportunity to touch
and America the opportunity to be
touched and understand the true cost of freedom.

To View a video showing the
Memorial please click here
APPROX 4 MINUTES
INSTALLATIONS
ALREADY PLANNED OR IN PROCESS
*FLORIDA - 199 SOLDIERS - INSTALLED JANUARY 10,
2008--
REGION IV - DEPARTMENT OF FLORIDA -
CHAPTER #566
*TEXAS
- 411
SOLDIERS - INSTALLED
JUNE 7, 2008
DESIGNED PORTABLE
AND IS BEING SET UP TO BE DISPLAYED
AND
TOUR THE ENTIRE STATE.
OUR MURALS CAN BE
MADE FOR A STATE,
A COUNTY,
A MILITARY BASE,
BRANCH OF SERVICE
AND EVEN THE NATION.
THE NATIONAL MEMORIAL WOULD BE
8' TALL AND APPROX
130' LONG WITH OVER 4900 PHOTOS
OVER 8000 CERAMIC
TILES. (WE ARE LOOKING FOR A HOME FOR
THIS)
THERE IS NO
LIMITATION AND WE NOT ONLY MAKE THEM OURSELVES BUT
WE DELIVER THEM AND
INSTALL THEM OURSELVES.
ONE CALL , ONE
COMPANY
THEY CAN BE UPDATED, REPAIRED AND EVEN
MOVED.
AND BESIDE EACH
MURAL IS A PLAQUE SHOWING
DEDICATED BY
THE MILITARY
ORDER OF THE PURPLE HEART
REGION -
DEPARTMENT - CHAPTER

A nyone driving past the Air
Force Armament Museum on Jan. 10 could tell something
special was happening. More than 200 motorcycles lined the drive
of the building, each rider
carrying an American flag.Those bikers, called the Patriot Guard
Riders, were there to honor
the 198 men and women from Florida
who have died in Iraq and Afghanistan
since Sept. 11, 2001.
The Military Order of the Purple
Heart asked the PGR to form a flag line around the museum for the unveiling
of a portrait mural at the Air Force
Armament Museum.The
Afghanistan Iraq War Memorial
Portrait Mural was organized by
the Military Order of the Purple Heart
to honor those killed in action.
Michelle Griffin, widow of Staff Sgt.
Patrick L. Griffin Jr., attended the
ceremony with their two children. The
sergeant was assigned with the 728th
Air Control Squadron at Eglin and was
killed while deployed to Iraq in
2003.
The 728th Air Control Squadron
deployed to Iraq for the fifth time just
hours before the memorial ceremony.
The Patriot Guard Riders escorted
the Griffin family from their Crestview
home to the ceremony.
“I can’t find words to describe what
it’s like to see all those bikes out there
and to have all of these hardcore
looking
guys come up, chins just a trembling,
and thanking me,” said Griffin. The families of six other servicemembers
from the Florida Panhandle who were killed in Iraq or Afghanistan attended the ceremony.
Bill Everett, Region 4 chief of staff
and commander of Chapter No. 566 Military Order of the Purple Heart,
said that when he returned from Vietnam
he wasn’t treated very well. So, he said, “I vowed that if I ever got in
the position, or had to opportunity to
where I could honor fallen veterans, I
would do it.”
Everett and Phil Darbonne wanted
a way to honor those killed in action
with more than just a name on a wall.
“It’s important that you see the
youngsters who have given their lives for this country,” said Everett.
“Everybody should see what it looks
like, not a name anymore, but a face
and a picture.”
This is the first portrait memorial
mural in the United States. “Eglin is both humbled and honored
by this opportunity to host the permanent
home of this Florida tribute,” said Col. Eric Pohland, 96th Air Base Wing
commander. By the end
of 2008, the MOPH anticipates each state will
have a mural
to honor its fallen military members.
Darbonne created and designed the mural that is now mounted to a wall
inside the museum. This mural is made of 440 ceramic tiles
and is 16 feet, 5 inches wide by 4
feet tall, but it could become larger.
It’s separated into panels, so each year
those killed in action can be added
to
another panel. “Every
one of these kids has a story,” said Darbonne.
“Hopefully, with
the photos it will help trigger somebody
to look at them.”A picture of each servicemember
killed in Afghanistan or Iraqi has been
burned onto individual ceramic tiles.
Choking back tears and holding
one of the tiles, Darbonne said, “What
makes this special is the 198 kids that
got brought home.”
Liane McCall cried as she rubbed
her hand over a smooth tile showing the face of the grandson, Army Sgt.
Daniel McCall. She and her husband,
Marvin, placed his tile on the mural.
Daniel, a Pace High School graduate,
was killed in Iraq on Oct. 30.
For Griffin, it’s been nearly five years since her husband’s death and
she’s gratified to know he is remembered.
The ceremony “shows that his death has not gone unnoticed; our sacrifices
as a family has not gone unnoticed
and the sacrifices of those other families sitting out there,” she said.
Friday, January 18, 2008
THE
EGLIN
DISPATCH
Page
12
Page 13 THE EGLIN DISPATCH Friday, January 18,
2008
FOR MORE
INFORMATION CONTACT US AT
(337) 856-7789
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