thedrifter
11-06-07, 05:37 AM
'Sacrifice of fallen heroes will never be forgotten'
Tuesday, November 06, 2007
By BOB LOWRY
Times Staff Writer bob.lowry@htimes.com
Memorial will honor 92 Alabamians killed in six-year war on terror
MONTGOMERY - A memorial to 92 Alabama service members who died while fighting in Iraq and Afghanistan, including eight from North Alabama, will be dedicated today at the state Capitol.
Family members have been invited to the 10 a.m. ceremony at the old state Supreme Court Library.
Alabamians killed in the six-year war on terror, which has claimed the lives of more than 3,850 U.S. troops, include 73 soldiers, 17 Marines, one airman and one Central Intelligence Agency officer.
"The sacrifice of our fallen heroes will never be forgotten by the people of Alabama," Riley said. "I want this memorial to serve as a powerful reminder of the courage and dedication of these Alabamians who defended our freedom and protected our nation. This reminder is especially important for the thousands of schoolchildren who visit our Capitol each year."
Riley, who commissioned the memorial, said Monday he expects family members from across the country to attend the ceremony.
Each fallen service member's name will be read during the ceremony, which will feature comments by Riley and Adjutant Gen. A.C. Blalock of the Alabama National Guard.
The Patriot Guard Riders, a national organization of motorcycle enthusiasts originally formed to stop members of the radical Westboro Baptist Church in Topeka, Kan., from disrupting military funerals, will also participate.
The motorcycle group attends funerals across the nation to honor fallen U.S. troops and to shield families from demonstrators.
The Alabama memorial is eight feet tall and 10 feet wide and features the names and photographs of the state's service members who have died since the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks on New York City and Washington. Additional names and photographs will be added to the memorial.
"We had to stop adding names to the memorial near the end of October in order for it to be made in time for the dedication," Jeff Emerson, Riley's director of communications, said Monday. "Service members who have fallen since then will have their names and photographs added at later times as the war continues."
The memorial will be on display in the Old Supreme Court Chamber on the first floor of the state Capitol.
Among those to be honored will be the first American to die in the Afghan conflict: Johnny (Mike) Spann, 32. A former Marine Corps officer from Winfield, Spann became the first U.S. fatality in the war when he died in November 2001 during the Mazar-i-Sharif prison uprising in northern Afghanistan.
Ellie
Tuesday, November 06, 2007
By BOB LOWRY
Times Staff Writer bob.lowry@htimes.com
Memorial will honor 92 Alabamians killed in six-year war on terror
MONTGOMERY - A memorial to 92 Alabama service members who died while fighting in Iraq and Afghanistan, including eight from North Alabama, will be dedicated today at the state Capitol.
Family members have been invited to the 10 a.m. ceremony at the old state Supreme Court Library.
Alabamians killed in the six-year war on terror, which has claimed the lives of more than 3,850 U.S. troops, include 73 soldiers, 17 Marines, one airman and one Central Intelligence Agency officer.
"The sacrifice of our fallen heroes will never be forgotten by the people of Alabama," Riley said. "I want this memorial to serve as a powerful reminder of the courage and dedication of these Alabamians who defended our freedom and protected our nation. This reminder is especially important for the thousands of schoolchildren who visit our Capitol each year."
Riley, who commissioned the memorial, said Monday he expects family members from across the country to attend the ceremony.
Each fallen service member's name will be read during the ceremony, which will feature comments by Riley and Adjutant Gen. A.C. Blalock of the Alabama National Guard.
The Patriot Guard Riders, a national organization of motorcycle enthusiasts originally formed to stop members of the radical Westboro Baptist Church in Topeka, Kan., from disrupting military funerals, will also participate.
The motorcycle group attends funerals across the nation to honor fallen U.S. troops and to shield families from demonstrators.
The Alabama memorial is eight feet tall and 10 feet wide and features the names and photographs of the state's service members who have died since the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks on New York City and Washington. Additional names and photographs will be added to the memorial.
"We had to stop adding names to the memorial near the end of October in order for it to be made in time for the dedication," Jeff Emerson, Riley's director of communications, said Monday. "Service members who have fallen since then will have their names and photographs added at later times as the war continues."
The memorial will be on display in the Old Supreme Court Chamber on the first floor of the state Capitol.
Among those to be honored will be the first American to die in the Afghan conflict: Johnny (Mike) Spann, 32. A former Marine Corps officer from Winfield, Spann became the first U.S. fatality in the war when he died in November 2001 during the Mazar-i-Sharif prison uprising in northern Afghanistan.
Ellie