T
HE CEREMONY AT THE OHIO STATEHOUSE
The dream became reality with the ceremony at the Ohio State House.
The Lima Company Memorial: A Remembrance of Spirit & Choice was on view at the Ohio Statehouse in Representatives' Hall through Veterans Day weekend, 2008.
The exhibition at the Ohio Statehouse offered thousands of individuals the opportunity to learn about the sacrifices that these fallen servicemen have given our state and nation.
The Ohio Statehouse is more than a monument to our past; it's where history happens. The building serves as both a place of learning and the state's working seat of government.
The Ohio Statehouse served as a solemn place to honor these American service members.
Participants included:
- Deputy Secretary of Defense Gordon England
- Asst. Commandant of the Marine Corps, General Robert Magnus
- Gov. Ted Strickland
- Sen. John Glenn
- Ohio Senate President Bill Harris
- Ohio House Speaker Jon Husted
- Carole Hoffman, mother of Sgt. Justin Hoffman
- Lima Company Gunny Sgt. Shawn Delgado
- Sen. Richard Finan
- Columbus Mayor Michael Coleman
- Navy Chaplain, Commander David Snowdon
- Artist Anita Miller
T
HE CINCINNATI HISTORY MUSEUM
The memorial was on dispaly in the Cincinnati Museum Center from November 2008 to January 4, 2009
Cincinnati History Museum
1301 Western Ave.
Cincinnati, OH 45203
Phone: 513-287-7000
Memorial to Lima Company.
An artistic memorial honoring the lives of 23 marines from one unit, killed in Iraq, was unveiled today at the Cincinnati Museum Center. Six of those marines were from the Tri-State. The Lima Company Memorial: A Remembrance of Spirit and Choice, was created by Columbus artist Anita Miller. Miller painted the life-sized images from photographs. The marines who served in that unit and survived say the paintings help provide some closure. "Many times the guys that are closest to you, you're with them for that moment but then sometimes 15 minutes later they're gone and you never get a chance to say goodbye. You never get a chance to grasp that they're gone." Each panel features names and statistics of the marines in the paintings, as well as their combat boots and a space for visitors to leave flowers and momentos. The exhibit will be there for seven weeks.
CINCINNATI (AP) -- Three-year-old Christian Kreuter will see a life-size image of the father he never had the chance to know when he and his mother make their first visit to a memorial honoring 23 Ohio-based service members killed in Iraq. Christian's father, Sgt. David Kreuter of Miami Township in suburban Cincinnati, was one of the fallen members of Columbus-based Lima Company.
The company -- part of the 3rd Battalion, 25th Marine Regiment, 4th Marine Division -- was devastated by attacks in Iraq, including a roadside bomb that killed nine Marines in 2005. The life-size paintings of the 22 Marines and a Navy corpsman go on exhibit today at the Cincinnati Museum Center after several months at the Ohio Statehouse. Like Sgt. Kreuter, Lance Cpl. Christopher P. Lyons, 24, of Mansfield, was killed in Iraq on July 28, 2005, before he ever met his daughter. While a civilian, Lyons worked as a sales representative in the advertising department of the News Journal. Lyons also is featured in the memorial. Christian's mom, Chrystina Kreuter, said she was not ready to see the memorial in Columbus, but will take her son to today's opening. "Christian may not understand everything, but I think it's important that he has a chance to see this so he can look back one day and know he was a part of this and that so many people cared," said Kreuter, 28, of nearby Mason. Kreuter said she saw the painting of her husband in artist Anita Miller's studio, and was amazed at how realistic it was, from the crinkle under his eye to the wedding band she asked the artist to paint on his left hand. "It was more than lifelike," she said. "It was such an emotional experience that I didn't think I was ready to go through that again, but I think I can do it now for Christian." David Kreuter's sister, Kristin Kreuter, said she accompanied her parents and sister to the Columbus exhibition and said it was difficult to put the emotions she felt into words. "We had seen the work in progress, but when you walk into the exhibit, you are looking at the Marines and they are looking at you," said Kristin Kreuter, 26, of Miami Township. "It's almost as if they all come to life. When you look at a photograph, you see the memory behind it, but when you see these paintings, it's almost as though my brother and the others are there in the moment." Miller, the suburban Columbus artist who created the memorial, said that is what she hopes everyone will feel when they walk into the circle of Marines -- most of them smiling and in relaxed poses with scenes from Iraq as a backdrop. "My hope is that people will walk in with open hearts and really be able to connect with these men," said Miller. "I hope they appreciate that each of them received a personal gift from these men -- men with names, families and a life of their own." Miller said she didn't know the men, but was deeply hurt by their deaths. "My heart was torn for their families when I heard what happened, and a few months later I woke in the night and saw this vision of the memorial." Miller said she has been in discussions with museums in Cleveland and in Maryland, Virginia and Texas, but doesn't know yet where the memorial will go next.
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