ESPAÑOLA, N.M. (KRQE) – A traveling memorial that pays tribute to a group of soldiers killed during Operation Iraqi Freedom is making a stop in Española.
After months of planning, The Eyes of Freedom: Lima Company Memorial, has made it’s way to the Pueblo of Pojoaque. It was a longtime goal for Cynthia Grant to bring that memorial to her hometown. She was only 5-years-old when her father Lance Corporal Jonathan Grant was killed. “I teamed up with a couple of board members, with my principal and with Northern New Mexico College and I was able to plan and bring it here,” said Grant.
Between May and August of 2005 during Operation Iraqi Freedom, 22 Marines and one Navy Corpsman from Lima Company in Ohio were killed in action, including Corporal Grant from New Mexico.
The Eyes of Freedom memorial was created to honor their sacrifice. “That was significant to our community, one is because it was marine reserve unit, two there was no other unit from either gulf war Desert Storm or Iraqi Freedom that lost that many,” said Kelly Jones-Swenson, Executive Director.
For two and a half years, Anita Miller a Columbus artist devoted her time working on life-size paintings of the fallen. The portraits aren’t the only thing that catch peoples’ attention when they visit the exhibit. “Family members came to the studio and said here are the boots, I want the boots to represent my son and we encourage people to look inside the boots as long as they put everything back,” said Sean Flaharty. Media and Logistics & Scribe.
The Eyes of Freedom memorial will be at Northern New Mexico College until Tuesday from 8:30 a.m. to 5:30 p.m.
