Traveling Iraq-Afghanistan memorial honors fallen heroes
Traveling Iraq-Afghanistan memorial honors fallen service members in Waukesha
A national traveling memorial honoring soldiers who died in conflicts since 9/11 is on display in Waukesha, featuring banners with names and photos submitted by families
WAUKESHA, Wis. —
A national traveling memorial honoring service members who died in conflicts since 9/11 is on display in Waukesha this week at the Schuetze Recreation Center.
Dave Luton, with Patriotic Productions, shared details about the exhibit, which features banners displaying 5,000 names and photos of fallen service members.
“Well, this is the national display of the Remembering Our Fallen. It is a pictorial display of our fallen in a war, the Global War on Terror cover from Sept. 11, 2001 to Aug. 30, 2021,” Luton said.
The names and photos on the banners were submitted by family members, creating a deeply personal tribute.
“We cannot forget them. After Vietnam, a lot of the troops came home from Vietnam and were shunned. And those veterans said they’ll never let that happen again,” Luton said.
On Wednesday, the Waukesha Legion Riders, veterans, and police officers kicked off this leg of the memorial’s journey, focusing on 11 service members from Waukesha County who died on active duty.
Luton, a Marine veteran, said the memorial is his mission.
“Remembrance. Just a remembrance. They walk through and see in and look and and point. And they say, ‘Oh, they’re also young.’ Well, that’s true. They are. The youngest Medal of Honor recipient on this display is 18 years old. And there’s 10 of them on here,” Luton said.
The exhibit is open through the weekend, with a closing ceremony scheduled for Sunday evening at 4:30 p.m. at the Schuetze Recreation Center.