Fort Lewis park will honor those killed in war

EDITOR'S NOTE: Each month, the P-I remembers the servicemen and servicewomen with ties to Washington who have died in Iraq and Afghanistan.

The names of eight members of the armed forces from Washington killed in Iraq in July will one day be inspiration for quiet thought at the 10-acre Reflection Park being created in the historic garrison section of Fort Lewis.

The names and dates of all the fallen from this state's towns and military bases, from every service branch in every war beginning with World War I, will be engraved on granite walls set amid the sound of trickling water.

"The intent of the design is that you are walking through time and towards hope and light, away from the darkness and the conflicts," said Kimberlee Shreiber, managing director for Equity at Fort Lewis Communities, a private firm building and managing Fort Lewis family housing. It also is building the memorial.

The journey is intended to evoke the fallen as ever-present, while evoking their families' sacrifice as well.

The park will be built near Cascade Community Center, ringed by old-growth trees. Preliminary work is being done this year, and it should open next year.

The memorial is one of Equity's many community projects, which include 52 smaller parks, trails, 57 bus shelters and four community centers. In four acres of the park overseen by Fort Lewis, individual unit memorials from around the post will be brought together.

No tax dollars are involved in the approximately $1 million project, a Fort Lewis housing official said. The idea grew from discussions with Fort Lewis focus groups and surrounding communities, and began to jell only in the past four months. Private donations, primarily through the Association of the United States Army, the Sergeants Major Association and Gold Star Wives, are also helping to pay for the memorial.

A walk through the park will begin at a building containing an electronic kiosk with the names, dates, unit biographies and locations in the park of the names of each fallen service member. Ground-level statues representing those who died unknown will be mingled -- as though always present and walking with visitors -- toward the side of the park representing hope, called a Knoll of Courage.

The park will be divided into garden and pathway timelines, their width determined by the casualties from each conflict. World War II is the thickest. According to the smaller Garden of Remembrance in Seattle near Benaroya Hall, more than 6,300 members of the armed forces from Washington fell in World War II. Since the start of the war in Iraq in March 2003, the Seattle P-I counts at least 217 members of the armed forces connected to this state's bases and hometowns who have died.

The eight deaths in July were down from 23 in May and 19 in June. The U.S. lost 76 members of the armed services in July, the lowest monthly total this year.

Those based in Washington killed in Iraq last month were:

Pvt. Michael Baloga, 21, of Everett, died July 26 in Muqdadiyah when a bomb in the road exploded, and his convoy was attacked. He left behind a 1-year-old daughter, Iris, whose well-being had prompted him to join the Army. He served with the 1st Cavalry Division based at Fort Hood, Texas.

Cpl. Rhett A. Butler, 22, of Fort Worth, Texas, a cavalry scout, was killed July 26 by a bomb in Khan Bani Sa'd. He served with Fort Lewis' 4th Stryker Brigade, 2nd Infantry Division. He overcame asthma and weight problems to join the Army after giving culinary school a try. He wanted to become a Green Beret.

Cpl. Brandon Craig, 25, Earleville, Md., a Stryker driver who also served with the 4th Stryker Brigade, was killed July 19 by a roadside bomb in Husayniyah. He hoped to return home on leave in November, when he and his wife, Jodi, who married two months before his unit left in April, planned the formal religious wedding ceremony they never had.

Navy Chief Petty Officer Patrick L. Wade, 38, of Key West, Fla., and Petty Officer Jeffrey L. Chaney, 35, of Omaha, Neb., both with Naval Air Station Whidbey Island's Explosive Ordnance Detachment Mobile Unit 11, died July 17 in a bomb blast while riding in a convoy in Salah Ad Din. The two had been in Iraq for two months. Wade left behind a wife and two daughters; Chaney left behind a 14-year-old daughter.

Marine Lance Cpl. Shawn V. Starkovich, 20, of Arlington, a field communications specialist, died July 16 in Al Anbar Province. The cause of his death remains under investigation. He served with the 1st Marine Division from Camp Pendleton, Calif., and joined before his 18th birthday. On his MySpace.com site, he wrote: "Some talk it, I live it, some walk it, I go full throttle with no regrets, nothing to look back and be sorry for."

Army Chief Warrant Officer Scott A.M. Oswell, 33, of Colorado, a Kiowa helicopter pilot with Fort Lewis' 4th Squadron, 6th U.S. Air Cavalry, died on Independence Day in Mosul when his helicopter struck a power line while he flew to save a man's life. A husband, father of three and a former Marine, Oswell was on his second deployment to Iraq.

Cpl. Victor A. Garcia, 22, of Rialto, Calif., was gunned down by enemy fire July 1 in Baghdad. He, too, served with Fort Lewis' 4th Stryker Brigade.

FUNERAL

FOR SAILORS

A memorial service for family and friends of two Naval Air Station Whidbey Island sailors killed in Iraq will be held at 4 p.m. Wednesday in Skywarrior Theater on the base. Chief Petty Officer Patrick Lee Wade, 38, and Petty Officer 1st Class Jeffrey Lucas Chaney, 35, members of Explosive Ordnance Disposal Mobile Unit 11, died July 17.

The service is closed to the general public, but notes of condolence to the families may be sent to EODMU-11, 180 W. Tulagi Ave., Oak Harbor, WA 98278-4930.

A memorial fund for each sailor's family was established at Navy Federal Credit Union. Donations may be made by calling 360-240-0996 from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. weekdays or by mailing a check to Navy Federal Credit Union, 275 S.E. Cabot Drive, Oak Harbor, WA 98277.