Local Organization Honors The Nation's Fallen Soldiers

Wednesday, August 8th 2007, 10:09 am

By: News On 6

A non-profit organization in Tulsa is working to honor our nation's fallen soldiers. News On 6 anchor Craig Day reports the group is comforting grieving families across the country with a special 3-dimensional sculpture created here in Green Country.

Michael Letney has looked forward to this day. He's about to ship out boxes with a very special gift inside. The group, Sacrifice for Freedom, will send out 50 sculptures to the Pentagon, to then be awarded to the families of soldiers killed in Iraq and Afghanistan.

"We've created a memorial that can go in their homes, so that they don't have to travel to a park to see it,â€ said Letney.

The sculptures feature the missing man formation flying across the globe. It sits atop a folded American flag. Sacrifice for Freedom has been working on the project for a couple of years. There was research and development, prototypes, fundraising. They've personally presented about a dozen so far, and now their first shipment is going out.

"It's just really strong in our hearts that we have to honor these folks,â€ Letney said. â€œAnd it's not a political thing. It's not a which side of the war you are on, it's moral."

The non-profit group raises money to pay for the sculptures. A $100 donation covers the memorial and shipping and a portion is used for scholarships and help for families who lost loved ones.

Sacrifice for Freedom hopes to send memorials to the spouses, parents and grandparents of every U.S. service member killed in the line of duty.

"The whole point of our project is to give these people comfort in their time of loss and help create a healing factor in their home,â€ said Letney.

And to let families know the sacrifice is remembered and appreciated.

The group also hopes to create a new memorial for service members killed in Vietnam by this November.

For information on how to donate to Sacrifice for Freedom and how to get one of the sculptures for a fallen soldier's family, click here.

Watch the video: Green Country Group Pays Tribute To Fallen Soldiers