Memorial wall dedicated to Texans killed in Iraq war

02:22 PM CDT on Sunday, August 14, 2005
By Doug Miller / 11 News
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The Houston area now has a memorial to Texans who have died in the Iraq war.

Saturday, the Fairmont Christian Center in Pasadena dedicated the memorial wall to one of its own parishioners and more than 100 other Texans.

War memorials usually come long after a war ends. But in Pasadena, the memories are already set in stone.

"Several of these are home boys for us," said Karen Schweiger, mother of a Marine. "We know their mothers. It's a real thing for us."

It started as a church's memorial to one Marine.

"It did. It started really beginning as a monument with just Leroy Sandoval, which was a member of this church," Pastor Jason Morse explained. "But we began to notice all the different military forces that were losing their lives over there."

And so they etched in granite the names of 171 Texans who have died in the Iraq war. And to honor the war dead, they invited their friends, families and comrades.

"Today we honor these heroes who made the ultimate sacrifice in order to keep us safe and to fight for freedom in the most dangerous and desperate corners of the Earth," said Lieutenant Wade Zirkle, Iraq war veteran.

And when they spoke of the young men and women who have died, it was enough to make a grown man cry

Steve Walters is the stepfather of a fallen Marine. He struggled to get his words out as he tried to fight back tears. "One is very dear to me. But all four have clearly given up their destiny.

They gave up what their future could be. I am grateful to them. And now I truly see."

So they read their names and paid tribute, as Americans always have to their war dead.

The ceremony was solemn, but for some it was also soothing.

"We have been to a lot of different memorials in honor of him, but this wall here, it's beautiful," said Willie Kimble, father of a fallen serviceman.

The memorial will stand as an everlasting monument to Texans in uniform who give their lives in Iraq.

One side of the memorial wall has been left blank for the names of other Texas servicemen and women who don't make it home alive.