thedrifter
05-26-07, 07:54 AM
Published on Friday, May 25, 2007
Honor restored
By MARK MOREY
YAKIMA HERALD-REPUBLIC
Two criminals stole it.
Dozens supported the effort to repair it.
And on Thursday evening, a crowd of grateful community members clapped as five soldiers carried Yakima's memorial to soldiers and Marines killed in the Iraq war back to its rightful place in a downtown park.
A convoy of motorcycles surrounded the military truck that brought the memorial back to the park at the corner of Second Street and Yakima Avenue.
"Each day, as we pass by this small park, let us remember what this monument represents, and let it remind us of how much we have to be thankful for," Brian Winter, a lieutenant colonel with the Marine Corps reserves who served in both Persian Gulf wars, told the crowd.
The memorial, a 3-foot bronze representation of a Battle Cross -- the traditional arrangement of boots, helmet and rifle that is posted in battle to recognize a slain comrade -- was taken in November by two thieves who dumped it in the Yakima River.
Yakima police officers tracked down the suspects, who are now serving prison time.
The monument, which had been dedicated just in time for the Fourth of July last year, includes the names of seven soldiers and Marines killed in Operation Iraqi Freedom.
The monument sustained damage in the theft, including the helmet being torn off. The memorial now sits on a 500-pound base and includes other reinforcements to make it harder to damage.
A surveillance camera has also been posted nearby.
The repairs were performed by Department of Defense maintenance technicians at the Yakima Training Center. Many of them served earlier in the war as part of their dual assignment with the state's National Guard.
"It was an honor to work on it," said project welder Anthony Bosworth, an Army National Guard sergeant with the 181st Support Battalion who went to Iraq in 2004 and 2005.
Susan Whitman, a Yakima city councilwoman whose son-in-law, Army Staff Sgt. Kyle Eggers, was killed in Iraq, thanked the community for its support. Eggers' name is listed on the memorial.
After the reposting, Whitman said she thinks the theft got enough publicity that the monument should be safe this time.
"That's just not something to touch," she said.
Ellie
Honor restored
By MARK MOREY
YAKIMA HERALD-REPUBLIC
Two criminals stole it.
Dozens supported the effort to repair it.
And on Thursday evening, a crowd of grateful community members clapped as five soldiers carried Yakima's memorial to soldiers and Marines killed in the Iraq war back to its rightful place in a downtown park.
A convoy of motorcycles surrounded the military truck that brought the memorial back to the park at the corner of Second Street and Yakima Avenue.
"Each day, as we pass by this small park, let us remember what this monument represents, and let it remind us of how much we have to be thankful for," Brian Winter, a lieutenant colonel with the Marine Corps reserves who served in both Persian Gulf wars, told the crowd.
The memorial, a 3-foot bronze representation of a Battle Cross -- the traditional arrangement of boots, helmet and rifle that is posted in battle to recognize a slain comrade -- was taken in November by two thieves who dumped it in the Yakima River.
Yakima police officers tracked down the suspects, who are now serving prison time.
The monument, which had been dedicated just in time for the Fourth of July last year, includes the names of seven soldiers and Marines killed in Operation Iraqi Freedom.
The monument sustained damage in the theft, including the helmet being torn off. The memorial now sits on a 500-pound base and includes other reinforcements to make it harder to damage.
A surveillance camera has also been posted nearby.
The repairs were performed by Department of Defense maintenance technicians at the Yakima Training Center. Many of them served earlier in the war as part of their dual assignment with the state's National Guard.
"It was an honor to work on it," said project welder Anthony Bosworth, an Army National Guard sergeant with the 181st Support Battalion who went to Iraq in 2004 and 2005.
Susan Whitman, a Yakima city councilwoman whose son-in-law, Army Staff Sgt. Kyle Eggers, was killed in Iraq, thanked the community for its support. Eggers' name is listed on the memorial.
After the reposting, Whitman said she thinks the theft got enough publicity that the monument should be safe this time.
"That's just not something to touch," she said.
Ellie