Remembering the fallen

Soldiers Magazine, July, 2004 by Benjamin R. Kibbey

WHEN he was forced to fashion statues of Saddam Hussein in horseback, the Iraqi sculptor known as Kalat had no idea that someday he would melt them down to create a memorial for American Soldiers.

The two original statues, which adorned a gate at the palace complex where the 4th Infantry Division's headquarters group is located, were removed with explosives last summer, said ISG Mark Anderson of Headquarters and HQs, Company, Anderson has monitored the memorial project's progress since then.

Members of the 555th Engineer Group cut the toppled statues into pieces and delivered them to Kalat, who reshaped the chunks of bronze into a likeness of an American Soldier being comforted by a small girl as he mourns a fallen comrade.

In July 2003 former HHC ISG Glen Simpson posed for the photograph the sculpture is based upon, said division CSM Chuck Fuss.

The artist, who fears retaliation from former regime loyalists for his work with coalition forces, spent several months sculpting and casting the statue. Though he worked with another artist to create the original statues of Saddam, he produced the 4th Inf. Div. memorial on his own, said Anderson.

The sculpture is based on a scene many in Iraq have witnessed in one form or another. A Soldier kneels before a memorial of boots, rifle and helmet--his forehead resting in the hollow of his hand. Behind and to his right stands a small Iraqi girl with her hand reaching out to touch his shoulder.

The little girl relates sympathy mixed with gratitude. She was added to remind people of why the sacrifice was made, Fuss said.

"It's about freedom for this country, but it's also about the children who will grow up in a free society," he said.

Though it now sits in one of Saddam's former palaces, the statue will soon be shuttled to Fort Hood, Texas, where it will be come part of a larger memorial project at the 4th Inf. Div. Museum. There, plaques will be hung in memory of those Task Force Ironhorse Soldiers who died in Iraq.

The memorial planned For the Fort Hood museum is projected to cost between $30,000 and $40,000, and is scheduled to be completed in July. Fuss said it's being paid for through donations from TF Ironhorse Soldiers and from private contributions raised by the 4th Inf. Div. Association.

The cost of the statue, about $18,000, was paid through small donations from 4th Inf. Div. Soldiers. Anderson said.

"I think this is the best way we can honor the memories of the fallen Soldiers," Fuss said.

"Really that's what it's for--a tribute to all the Soldiers over here who lost their lives," Anderson said. "They will never be forgotten, and they will always be heroes in our eyes."

SPC Benjamin R. Kibbey is a member of the Army Reserve's 367th Mobile Public Affairs Detachment.