There’s a real-life story of heroism behind every dog tag that makes up the Veterans & Athletes United Fallen Heroes Memorial that’s currently visiting the National Museum of the Marine Corps in Triangle, Va.
The memorial travels the country to “raise awareness of the sacrifice paid by our nation’s heroes,” said VAU founder retired Army Capt. James Howard
Howard grew up in Lynchburg, Va. and comes from a large military family. His father served with the Army during the Vietnam era and his grandfather served during both World War II and Korea. A 2002 Virginia Military Institute graduate, Howard served for most of his eight-year military career with the 82nd Airborne and completed the Ranger, Sapper, Jumpmaster and Special Forces courses.
His spinal cord deteriorated as the result of numerous military jumps and injuries he sustained in Iraq. Those injuries combined with the results of a swimming accident left him using a wheelchair but didn’t dampen the love he has for his fellow vets.
Instead, it spurred him on to create VAU in 2012, when Howard and other disabled veterans came together to honor fallen heroes from the Global War on Terror.
“A lot of great volunteers came together to make it happen. I had the easy job from my wheelchair,” he said.
Initially, the group planned a permanent memorial, but when the price tag came in at around $33 million, they scaled back their plans and came up with the idea of a traveling memorial.
These dog tags of the fallen now form a traveling American flag
“I had many friends and so did a couple of the other guys that helped me get it going on this flag,” he explained.
Howard said the four-year project which was finalized in 2018 grew out of conversations he had with a number of people – but always focused on “doing something with dog tags and the American flag.”
The volunteers came together to design and construct the 28-foot wide by six-foot-tall memorial which is in the shape of the flag when it is draped over the casket of a fallen service member. In order to make it easier to move, the memorial is in sections. It takes several hours for volunteers to put the memorial together as it travels from location to location. Howard said about 7,000 dog tags inscribed with the names of service members who had died during the War on Terror currently comprise the flag.
“The tags are in alphabetical order from Sept. 11, 2001, to Jan. 1, 2018,” explained Howard. “After that, they are in the chronological order of when the person was KIA (killed in action).”
“It kinda hits you in the gut,” he said. “To be able to see yourself in it, whether you see the American flag or you see the names that make it up gives you an opportunity to realize what the price of freedom is and what the flag should mean to this country. We are all living in freedom under a single flag.”
The memorial was a focal point for many visitors to the Marine Museum on Tuesday, who stopped by to snap photos or to simply reach out and silently touch one of the dog tags.
“Land of the free because of them,” said Marine veteran Jake Ross from Chattanooga, Tenn.
If you would like to see the memorial here is a list of where they will be traveling next:
•July 20: Bone Frog DC Challenge, Washington D.C.
•Sept. 8: Travis Manion 9/11 Heroes Run, Richmond, Va.
•Sept. 9: Virginians For Veterans, Richmond, Va.
•Sept. 10-12: Virginia War Memorial, Richmond, Va.
•Sept. 13-15: Travis Manion 9/11 Heroes Run, Alexandria, Va.
•Sept. 17-19: Travis Manion 9/11 Heroes Run, Jacksonville, Fla.
•Sept. 27-19: Travis Manion 9/11 Heroes Run, Doylestown, Penn.
•TBD in October: Army Ten-Miler, Pentagon, D.C.
•TBD: Richmond Hunter McGuire VA, Richmond, Va.
•Nov. 3-4: APK honor the Fallen 5K, Guilford, Conn.
•Nov. 11: Veterans Event, Richmond, Va.
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