OK Marine Veteran Carving, Delivering 'Battlefield Crosses' For Fallen Comrades

An Oklahoma veteran is on a mission to honor 17 comrades killed in action.

Anthony Marquez has been carving "battlefield crosses," but now he wants to do more to make sure they’re never forgotten.

It's been roughly a year and a half since Marquez started turning big logs into battlefield crosses. So far, he's about halfway through the journey but he has even more in the works.

It’s hard work, but with each piece of sawdust, the Marine veteran gets closer to his goal of honoring 17 comrades killed in battle.

"The main thing for me is I want people to know their names," he said.

For the last year, Marquez has traveled thousands of miles around the country, hand delivering the crosses to his comrades’ surviving family members.

“It's hard doing it, but the end goal, and the reason behind it, succeeds all that, so I have to do it for the families," he said.

When he's done, all 17 families will have one.

“Each one of them has a story, a background, a family and loved ones still here," Marquez said.

So far he's delivered nine, but he wants to do more than drop them off.

Marquez and his brother are now documenting the process and making pitches to top companies, hoping they'll sponsor a special project that documents each of the 17 fallen Marines’ stories.

"This kind of helps put their names out there for people to see them or read them," he said.

For Marquez, this is a major mission that's well worth every minute and every mile.

You can follow Marquez and his journey online. Marquez is also holding a live carving at the Owasso Community Center on Tuesday, November 7, 2017, at 8 a.m. You can find more information here.