Courtesy Photo | Airman 1st Class Tanja Kambel, 506th Expeditionary Security Forces Squadron, paints...... read more read more
KIRKUK, Iraq - Twenty-four concrete barrier walls line the area known as the Leroy Webster Distinguished Visitor Helicopter Pad at Kirkuk Regional Air Base.
However, these particular barrier walls are not your run-of-the-mill barrier walls. For painted on these walls are the names of every service member who has died during Operation Iraqi Freedom from the start of the campaign in 2003.
The walls, which serve as a stark reminder of those who have paid the highest price for freedom, were a long time coming for those who had been working on the project since July of 2009.
Master Sgt. Donald Albee, flight sergeant for the 506th Expeditionary Security Forces Squadron, became the supervisor of the project when an Army chief warrant officer delegated the responsibility of painting a memorial wall to Albee.
The responsibility for the area was given to the warrant officer-in-charge of scheduling helicopter flights, to be used as a landing zone for flight arrivals and departures.
Albee said the idea for the wall sprang from a need to make the area more aesthetically pleasing, which was previously covered with graffiti, as well as honor fallen comrades.
Albee soon began recruiting volunteers by putting out a mass e-mail. He received responses from Air Force and Army personnel alike.
The task was initially met with trial and error.
"Originally, there was no set method for painting the walls," said Airman 1st Class Tanja Kambel, 506th ESFS patrol member and volunteer for the memorial project. "When the volunteers first began to paint the names, everyone had different handwriting styles, used different spacing and fonts."
According to Albee, the volunteers completed nearly half of the project before leadership decided the writing on the wall needed a more consistent look.
Although the process was painstaking, Kambel agreed with the decision to begin again because she understood the importance of doing it right.
"It feels a lot better looking at the finished product now compared to when we started," she said. "It was worth the time and effort we put into it because the people listed on the wall deserve the wall to look the best that it can."
The new method involved only one person's handwriting per wall. There were also set standards for spacing and size so that everything would look uniform and balanced.
Each wall holds roughly 200 names, and to date, there are more than 4,360 names on the 24 walls.
Albee said he hopes people will take a moment to stop at the wall and think about what those names represent and how they have paved the way to make this country safer.
Kambel said the reality of who these people were hit home when she first volunteered for the project and was given pictures and background information for each name.
"It's not just another name; it's a person who gave his life," she said.
For Kambel, it's personal. Her cousin lost an arm and a leg during an improvised explosive device attack while stationed here several years ago.
"It makes me completely grateful for the job these people did while they were here," Kambel said. "It makes me really thankful that I am still alive. I hope the wall reminds people to live life to its fullest because you never know how long it's going to last."
| Date Taken: | 01.10.2010 |
| Date Posted: | 01.10.2010 09:19 |
| Story ID: | 43626 |
| Location: | KIRKUK, IQ |
| Web Views: | 1,298 |
| Downloads: | 308 |
This work, Memorial Wall honors those lost in Operation Iraqi Freedom, by Mindy Bloem, identified by DVIDS, must comply with the restrictions shown on https://www.dvidshub.net/about/copyright.
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