Defending Freedom Memorial ~ Local 9/11 Memorial

Back in April of this year, my husband and I had the opportunity to visit a few memorials in the Las Vegas area. The first one was the Silent Heroes of the Cold War National Monument (you can see that post here). Next we went to the Defending Freedom Memorial at Red Rock Canyon. 

This memorial was built to honor members of the United States Military from Nevada who have died since the beginning of the war with Iraq and Afghanistan. A war which was a direct response to an attack on America. That attack occurred on Tuesday, September 11th, 2001 at the World Trade Center, the Pentagon in Washington, DC and a field in Pennsylvania where passengers and flight crew died as a result of these attacks. This memorial is beautiful and simplistic in a setting that can take your breath away. My pictures don't do it justice but they are all I have to show.

The memorial stones sit in a semi-circle.

Stone # 1: PVT Joshua M Morberg USA, SGT Gordon F Misner II USA, CPL Shawn T Lasswell Jr. USA, 1st SGT Carlos N Saenz USA, SPC Teodoro Torres USA, SGT John C Griffin USA, SSGT Emmanuel L Legaspi USA, PFC David N Crombie USA, SPC Ignacio Ramirez USA, LCPL Jeremy Z Long USMC, PFC P. Brandon Williams USA, SGT Kenneth E Bostic USA.

Stone # 2: SGT David Joseph Drakulich USA, SSGT Sean Michael Gaul USA, PFC Willington M Rhoads USA, CW2 Christian P Humphreys USA, SGT Ezra Dawson USA, SPC Thomas F Lyons USA, PFC Kevin Thomson USA, SPC Kimble Han USA, SGT Josue Hernandez-Chavez USA, PFC Roger A Suarez-Gonzalez USA, SSG Sean Derrel Diamond USA.

Stone # 3: PFC John Lukac USMC, SPC Daniel F Guastaferro USA, SGT Eric W Morris USA, LCPL Richard Perez Jr. USMC, CPL Jesse Jaime USMC, MM2 (Seal) Shane Patton USN, CPL Joseph L Martinez USA, SGT Patrick D Stewart USA, CPL Seamus M Davey USMC, PFC Thomas C Siekert USA.

Stone # 4: SPC Jason A Disney USA, CPL Matthew A Commons USA, LCPL Donald J Cline Jr. USMC, LCPL Michael Williams USMC, SSG Cameron B Sarno USA, SPC James L Beckstrand USA, A1C Jesse M Samek USAF, LCPL Nicholas H Anderson USMC, CPL Christopher L Weaver USMC, SSG Donald Griffin Jr. USA.

Stone # 5: Defending Freedom. "It is wrong to mourn the death of men like these. Rather we should thank God that such men lived." General George S. Patton. ALL GAVE SOME...SOME GAVE ALL.

Stone # 6: SPC Brian Tabada USA, SGT Matthew Hennigan USA, SGT Frank Zaehringer III,USMC, 1st Lt Joel Gentz USAF, SSgt David Smith USAF, Capt David Wisniewski USAF, SrA Michael Buras USAF, SGT Ken Hermogino USA, SPC Douglas J Green USA, SPC Dennis James Jr.USA, SGT Timothy Sayne USA, CPL Jon-Luke Bateman USMC.

Stone # 7:  CPL Stanley J Lapinski USA, SPC Anthony S Cometa USA, 2nd LT James J Cathey USMC, CW3 John M Flynn USA, SSG Kerry W Frith USA, CW2 John D Smith USA, 2nd Lt Frederick E Pokorney USMC, CPT Joshua T Byers USA, SFC Raymond E Jones Jr. USA, CPL William L Salazar USMC.

Stone # 8: LCPL Budd M Cote USMC, SSG Coby G Schwab USA, SSG Michael L Townes USA, Capt Kermit O Evans USAF, SGT Anthony J Schober USA, LCPL Raul Samuel Bravo II USMC, PFC Alexander R Varela USA, CW02 Joshua R Rodgers USA, SPC Joshua S Modgling USA, SPC Travis M Virgadamo USA, 1st LT Nathan M Krissoff USMC, SGT Alfred G Paredez Jr. USA.