332nd Airborne Dedicate New Memorial on Balad Air Base

32 names were read. 32 men stepped forward. Each representing the life and spirit of the fallen Airman whose name was called. Balad Air Base was honoring those who had given all.

The Free Press Standard reported in it's Wednesday edition, the ceremony for the unveiling of the 332nd Air Expeditionary Wing's new monument. The monument was created for the men and women who have lost their lives in Iraq.

(In honoring these fallen soldiers, and the paper doing the story, I have to quote a line in the original article.)

"Some were pilots, some were security forces specialists, some were administrative technicians or radio operators; all shared a common fate - and the fullest commitment to service before self."

The posting of the colors and the National Anthem started the solemn tribute. The chaplain gave his invocation. A 21 gun salute followed the reading of the names. "Taps" was played as the monument was unveiled.

The Free Press quoted Chief Master Sergeant Scott Dearduff as saying, "This is not just a memorial. It's a work of art, forged and crafted by a great young American." Dearduff is the command chief for the 332nd Air Expeditionary Wing.

Set in front of the headquarters building, the welded steel tribute is mounted on a concrete piling. It is solid with it's top angling forward. a smooth black plate covers the surface. Engraved on a separate black plate are the names of the fallen soldiers. The plate is framed in silver, making it stand out. The chrome Air Force badge identifying the career field tops each name, according to The Free Press Standard.

The bottom of the face plate is inscribed with these words, "This memorial is dedicated to those airmen who served in Operation Iraqi Freedom and made the ultimate sacrifice for their nation .... They served our nation at a time of its greatest need and faced the enemy at the front lines."

"The monument stands as a tribute to all the airmen and their families who made the ultimate sacrifice for their nation and fellow service members," said Brig. Gen. Robin Rand, 332nd AEW commander. "Each person named on this monument was taken from us too soon." , as quoted by the Free Press Standard.

The Free Press reported that Rand has a special connection to this memorial because he served with and commanded some of the fallen whose names were listed.

The 332nd had built another memorial at their old base, Ali Base. When they moved in 2004, the "Fallen Airmen" remembrance, stayed behind.

From September 2006 to January of 2007, the 332nd Expeditionary Wing lost 6 members. It was time to honor them.

Airman 1st Class Neil Ketchem, a structures specialist deployed here from the 75th Civil Engineer Group, did the metal work. He was able to transform scrap steel into a memorial.

The Free Press Standard quoted the Airman as saying, "I was asking everybody for input". Finally, he was able to come up with something suitable to everyone. It took 6 weeks to craft the monument. Using an acetylene torch, he used 4x8 sheets of thin steel to create the final piece.

According to The Free Press Standard, the Army-Air Force Exchange Service provided the engraved name plates and Air Force functional badges. There were several other organizations that helped with the completion of the monument. and several other agencies helped with the completion of the monument.

Source: staff writers, The Free Press Standard, Carrollton Ohio; "Airman Has Honor of Memorializing Fallen Comrades"