Deputy Defense Secretary Gordon England and other senior officials began the Memorial Day weekend by participating in a ceremony at the Ohio Statehouse in Columbus that included the unveiling of a memorial honoring 22 Marines and a Navy corpsman killed in Iraq.
The memorial consists of eight panels with life-sized portraits of the Marines and corpsman from Company L, 3rd Battalion, 25th Marine Regiment, who lost their lives while serving in Iraq from February to September 2005.
Marine Gunnery Sgt. Shawn Delgado, who deployed with the company as the weapons platoon commander, was among those who spoke at the unveiling. He held back his emotions as he shared personal stories about many of the fallen.
“None of us want these Marines or anyone from Lima Company to be remembered for their death,” Delgado said. “Please never forget why Marines, soldiers, sailors and airmen go forward, and that’s to push the cause of freedom.”
England praised the courage of the Lima Company Marines who he said followed in the footsteps of Americans who have defended freedom for more than 230 years, including the “Greatest Generation” from World War II.
“Just as the ‘Greatest Generation’ answered the call almost 70 years ago and changed the course of history, today’s ‘Greatest Generation,’ Lima Company, has preserved for us this marvelous, precious gift,” he said.
“In honoring them, let us all never forget their sacrifices,” he said. “Let us all recommit ourselves to the preservation of freedom for future generations, so those generations will wake each morning as free Americans.”
England said it’s not by accident or chance that Americans live in freedom, but because patriots like Lima Company Marines have stepped forward to defend it when it was threatened.
“Lima Company — and especially those honored today and their families — knows that the American people are grateful for your sacrifice, your tireless service, your dedication, and especially your gift of freedom,” he said.
Assistant Commandant of the Marine Corps Gen. Robert Magnus shared words sent to the Lima Company Marines by Deb Dunham. Her late son, Marine Cpl. Jason Dunham, became the first Marine since Vietnam to earn the Medal of Honor when he threw himself on a live terrorist grenade in Iraq to protect his fellow Marines.
“My message is Deb Dunham’s message for those who honor the fallen angels of Lima 3/25 today and for those who carry on and celebrate the meaning of their lives,” Magnus said. “Just like her boy Jason, who volunteered after 9/11 to do an important mission and to take care of his Marines, we say, ‘Thank you, keep doing what you are doing, and take care of each other.’
“God bless the angels for the lives that they lived,” he said. “God bless all who celebrate their lives. God bless those who do the difficult and often dangerous work of serving. God bless all who support them and their families. God bless America. Semper fidelis.”
The eight canvas panels of the Lima Company Memorial honoring the fallen Marines were painted by Columbus artist Anita Miller, who said the idea came to her in a dream. The panels are arranged in an octagon, with each fallen warrior’s boots and an ever-living candle beneath his likeness.
The memorial will stay in the statehouse before traveling across the country.
“These paintings tell a story of courage and strength and hope,” Ohio Gov. Ted Strickland said during the dedication ceremony. “The paintings will stand in our state house from Memorial Day through Veterans Day, but the Lima Company will remain in our hearts every day.”
