A memorial will be built in Boalsburg, Pennsylvania at the site of the 28th Infantry Division Shrine and the Pennsylvania Military Museum to honor those warriors who paid the ultimate price. Soldiers from the brigade built a memorial while they were in Iraq to honor their fallen comrades. That memorial was disassembled and brought back to Pennsylvania and was reconstructed in front of the Department of Military and Veterans Affairs building at Fort Indiantown Gap. The memorial to be built in Boalsburg will be similar to the one built in Iraq, but will be constructed out of granite and steel. Below is the artist's concept for the memorial.
The Memorial Design
The memorial will consist of an obelisk shape on a pedestal resting on a platform. The obelisk body will be made of iron. The surface of the obelisk will be pitted and scared with holes. The cap of the obelisk will have an iron frame with four panels of glass. The iron interior of the obelisk will be brushed to a brilliant shine. The light from the pedestal will shine up and out of the body. It will reflect off of the interior walls, the ID tags, and out the cap at the top.
Inside the obelisk, dog tags for each fallen warrior are suspended from chains. A light shines on them from the base of the structure skyward through the obelisk cap. The cap is made of shattered vehicle glass and acts as a window through which their souls will shine for eternity. As the wind passes through the structure the dog tags move with a wind chime suspended below them, creating a subtle sound, like the quiet whispers of the Fallen as they continue to speak to us.
The 28th Infantry Division Shrine at Boalsburg, PA
Artist sketch of the memorial.
Artist sketch of the pedestal.
Pennsylvania National Guard Foundation, Inc.
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