Memorial to fallen soldiers running out of room

[RamboLiberal]

Source: USA Today

A popular war memorial consisting of dedicated trees, one planted for every soldier of the Army's 3rd Infantry Division lost to war, presents commanders with a problem.

The memorial is running out of space. Its elaborate design — requiring sidewalks and buried electrical lighting — has forced Army officials to prepare expansion plans.

It is a delicate issue at a base where thousands of families are sending loved ones off to war again, in some cases for the third time. "The assumption was, unfortunately, four years ago there wouldn't be but two sidewalks' worth of trees, and that just didn't happen to be the case," says Michael Biering, the garrison director of public works.

The memorial is filled with eastern redbud trees, chosen because their pink-purple blossoms appear in the spring. That's when soldiers from the 3rd Infantry, based here, first raced to Baghdad in 2003 and suffered their first fatalities. The division has returned to Iraq twice since then.

Now, 326 trees are planted along sidewalks that border the parade ground, where troops assemble before reuniting with their families after a combat tour.


Sgt. Harold Pinkava removes the cover from Sgt. Arthur R. McGill's granite memorial, Aug. 18, 2005, at Fort Stewart, Ga., during a tree dedication ceremony along Warriors' Walk honoring soldiers killed in action in Iraq.

Read more: http://www.usatoday.com/news/nation/2007-05-23-warrior-walk_N.htm

[Solly Mack]

1. well, gee, let's just fund another one..we can't stop the dying

might as well fund extra memorials to the deaths

you have to ask...

[saigon68]

3. Maybe the State of Wyoming could be considered. Its

big enough for the NeoCon's future "Wars of Liberation and Democracy"

LOL

Remember Freedom is on the march

[NV Whino]

2. How about

We just start stenciling the names on Bushie's armored batmobile.

[gratuitous]

4. "That just didn't happen to be the case"

Yeah, all those deaths "just happened." Couldn't have been helped. Nobody's at fault. Just a rum go. 326 trees, and dozens or hundreds to be added. Very nice.