CALHOUN, Dec 11, 2009 – Active and retired Guardsmen of 1st Squadron, 108th Cavalry have begun a project to build a memorial to its Soldiers who’ve died while fighting the Global War on Terror. The memorial will be located in front of the Bernard Franklin National Guard Armory here.

According to the eight-member committee overseeing construction of the memorial, construction should be finished by some time in February 2010. The majority of 1st Squadron, along with those from its elements in Rome, Dalton and Canton are in Afghanistan supporting Operation Enduring Freedom.

“Right now, none of our deployed troops know about what we’re doing,” said 1LT Abbey Hausen, who heads the committee. She’s also administrative officer for the 108th’s rear detachment and the unit’s operations and training officer. “The idea is to have it completed before they start returning home in March, and then hold a dedication ceremony after everyone is back.”

During Operation Iraqi Freedom in 2005 - 2006 – when the unit was designated Battalion, 108th Armor – the unit lost six Soldiers. A former Soldier was lost in 2006 while assigned to another unit. Going into the seventh month of the current deployment six also have been lost.

“Whether we knew them personally or only casually, they are our brothers,” SFC Claude Bohannon, the senior enlisted Soldier for the rear detachment, said. “While they remain in our thoughts, memories may fade,” he added. “Through this monument, they’ll be with us as long as it and this armory stand, always reminding us of the price they paid for the freedom of others,” she added.

The first phase of the project calls for securing donations from among area businesses and through brick sales to area residents. The unit has also asked for assistance from the families of the fallen in spreading the word about the memorial.

Phase two is construction of the monument along the armory’s front grassy area that faces toward the front parking area parallel to River Street.

The names of 108th’s fallen and the Department of the Army seal will comprise the memorial. Atop the wall will be statue depicting an M16 rifle with its bayonet stuck in the ground. The rifle butt has a Soldier’s helmet on it with a set of dog tags dangling beneath and the combat boots of a fallen Soldier below.

Two stone benches will adorn the concrete pad on which the wall containing those names will sit.


All of this, Hausen explained, will be separate from the armory’s existing front wall.

As the search for donors continues, a Calhoun builder, Fox and Brindle Construction Co., has offered to erect the memorial, she added. The hope of all involved is that construction begins shortly after the holidays in order to meet the completion date.