Contact: Leah Barbour
Photo by: submitted
STARKVILLE, Miss.--During the U.S. military's Operation Iraqi Freedom III, nearly two dozen Marines with Lima Company, 3rd Battalion, 25th Marine Regiment died during a 2005 mission to equip and train Iraqi Security Forces.
All posthumously were awarded Purple Hearts for combat service in one of the hardest-hit ground units then operating in the Middle Eastern country.
As a memorial to the 23 that were part of the Columbus, Ohio-based unit, Anita Miller created the The Eyes of Freedom Memorial, a traveling collection of life-size portraits of the fallen men.
From Monday to Friday [March 23-27], Mississippi State University is recognizing and celebrating their sacrifices by featuring their portraits in the Colvard Student Union's second-floor art gallery. MSU'S G.V. "Sonny" Montgomery Center for America's Veterans is sponsoring the exhibit.
Monday and Tuesday [March 23 and 24], the display is open 8 a.m.-5 p.m. Viewing hours Wednesday and Thursday [March 25 and 26] are 8 a.m.-8 p.m., while Friday's [March 27] are 8 a.m.-2 p.m.
"We are very excited to bring a wonderful experience to the Mississippi State community and allow everyone in attendance to honor the men and women that serve in our great military," said Mike Strahle, director of The Eyes of Freedom.
He was a Lima Company member with the 23 and considers presenting the traveling display a personal mission to honor all who served in Iraq, especially those that gave their lives. An explosion that killed six of the 23 in 2005 also left him badly injured.
"We are honored to be coming to the state of Mississippi for the very first time in our history of over 150 events, and we invite everyone to visit us during display hours to honor all branches of service, past present and future," he said. "You do not want to miss it."
The portraits Miller painted were unveiled for the first time in 2008 in the Ohio State House rotunda.
She said, "The main reason for creating The Eyes of Freedom was to heal family members and loved ones after suffering such loss in 2005, and now it travels as part of a much larger mission."
For more about Miller, visit www.theartistsroost.com.
Strahle said he first viewed The Eyes of Freedom Memorial at the 2008 Ohio opening. In 2011, he sought her permission to feature the portraits at a veterans' fundraiser and soon became the display's full-time director. For more, see www.limacompanymemorial.org.
Additional details about the exhibit show at MSU are available from Ronnie White, Montgomery Center associate director, at 662-325-6825 or rwhite@saffairs.msstate.edu.
Complete information on the Center for America's Veterans mission is accessible at www.veterans.msstate.edu.
MSU, Mississippi's flagship research university, is online at www.msstate.edu, meridian.msstate.edu, facebook.com/msstate, instagram.com/msstate, pinterest.com/msstate and twitter.com/msstate.