"It's important to have a memorial," said Lt. Col. Warner Holt, Regimental Fires Squadron, 278th Armored Cavalry Regiment, 13th Sustainment Command (Expeditionary), and an Estill Springs, Tenn., native. "It's something to keep the memory alive for all these troops that gave the ultimate sacrifice."

Over the last seven years, Soldiers have honored the fallen here with hundreds of memorials, most in the form of painted T-walls, street signs and plaques.

West said that for Soldiers in Iraq, memorials are something that might remind them of why they're here.

The story of why West is here in Iraq sheds light on why both she and Holt work to honor the fallen of Operation Iraqi Freedom.

On May 28, 2007, her son, Army 1st Lt. Kile Grant West, a field artillery officer and platoon leader for 6th Squadron, 9th Cavalry Regiment, 3rd Heavy Combat Brigade, 1st Cavalry Division, was killed in action near Forward Operating Base Normandy by a roadside bomb while on a mission to rescue a downed helicopter.

"When this happens to you, everything you thought you wanted out of life changes," West said. "What car you have, what house you own is not important anymore."

She felt the need to take action and to better understand her son's death.

"I tried to join the Army. I tried the National Guard, but my age kept me back," she said. "KBR was my only foothold over here."

West currently works here as an administrative specialist for KBR, Inc. She says because her son didn't get to finish his OIF tour, she's finishing it for him in her own way.

"I got to stand where he stood and see what he saw at Forward Operating Base Normandy," she said.

U.S. Army and KBR, Inc. leadership coordinated to allocate West the opportunity to meet with her son's unit in Iraq and also to ride in a Bradley Fighting Vehicle.

"I really wanted to join them," she said.

She met and bonded with many of Kile's comrades from 6th Sqdn., 9 Cav. Regt.

Holt and West described a Fallen Soldiers Monument as a link between family members and Soldiers.

"Having lost Soldiers in combat myself, I know how important that is," Holt said. "And to stay in touch with all those family members for the guys that were there. I know that Nanette has met some of those troops that have served with her son, and there's a close bond there. You're forever tied."

Plans are in place to ensure memorials like these make it back to the States in-line with the U.S. military's upcoming responsible drawdown. Some memorials have already been packed up to be shipped home.

These memorials are a testament to these Soldiers' sacrifice, said Maj. Linda Bass, human resources chief with the 13th ESC, and a native of Bessemer, Ala., explaining why they will be shipped home.
Her brother, Sgt. 1st Class Richard Henkes, who was assigned to 2nd Battalion, 3rd Infantry Regiment, 3rd Stryker Brigade, 2nd Infantry Division, died Sept. 3, 2006, near Mosul, as a result of a roadside bomb.

Bass, upon hearing about Holt and West's Fallen Soldiers Memorial work, volunteered her assistance.

Although Holt and West have done all the planning to this point, many people have pulled together to accomplish the mission. A KBR, Inc. sign shop has offered its equipment for use. A local Iraqi painter is going to do much of the artwork. RFS mayor's cell Soldiers will do the building. Holt says construction is likely only a few weeks away.

The design plan, nearly a month in the works and partly inspired by the FOB Warhorse Memorial and the Central Texas State Veterans Cemetery, calls for items like T-walls, steel, vinyl and decals. Names of fallen service members are to appear with unit crests on a whitewashed background listed by year.

Holt gives much of the credit for this historical initiative to West.

"She has taken a very negative situation and tried to make it a positive," he said.

"You've got to take what you're handed, and you've got to turn it around," West said. "Kile is why I am here, and why I feel the need to honor other Soldiers who have fallen."