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    Memorial service for fallen soldiers [Image 1 of 16]

    Memorial service for fallen soldiers

    MOUNT VERNON, IL, UNITED STATES

    03.16.2019

    Photo by Staff Sgt. Carrie Castillo 

    318th Theater Public Affairs Support Element

    Identification "Dog" tags of Spc. Jackson Johnson hang from the fallen soldier battle cross at the memorial service in Mount Vernon, Illinois, March 16. The Battle Cross is a symbolic replacement of a cross, on the battlefield or at the base camp for a soldier who has been killed. Dog tags are sometimes placed on the rifle, and the boots of the dead soldier can be placed next to the rifle. The purpose is to show honor and respect for the dead at the battle site. The practice started during or prior to the American Civil War, as a means of identifying the bodies on the battleground before removal. Today, it is a means of showing respect for the dead among the still living members of the unit. Johnson was killed in a non-combat vehicle crash, March 5, while deployed in Kuwait in support of Operation Inherent Resolve.

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    IMAGE INFO

    Date Taken: 03.16.2019
    Date Posted: 03.17.2019 11:24
    Photo ID: 5183813
    VIRIN: 190316-A-ZO892-227
    Resolution: 4764x3535
    Size: 4.45 MB
    Location: MOUNT VERNON, IL, US
    Hometown: CEDAR RAPIDS, IA, US
    Hometown: HILLSBORO, MO, US
    Hometown: PINCKNEYVILLE, IL, US

    Web Views: 101
    Downloads: 8

    PUBLIC DOMAIN