CASPER, Wyo. — Casper College Veterans Club is hosting the Eyes of Freedom: Lima Company Memorial. The memorial will be on display on campus June 19–24 from 8 a.m. to 9 p.m. each day. It will be located on the third floor in the Gateway Building on the Casper College campus and is free and open to the public.
Dr. Nicolas Whipps, the Veteran and Military Student Services Coordinator, says, “Since 2017, Casper College has hosted a traveling military-based memorial on our campus each summer with the intent of honoring all of our service members past, present, and future and bringing our community together.”
This year, Casper College states it is “honored and humbled” that it will get to present a memorial dedicated to honoring the Marines of Lima Company and the service and sacrifice of all who answer our nation’s call.
The life-size mural paintings of the 23 fallen of Lima 3/25 now travel the entire country. The memorial’s last time in Casper was in 2018.
There will be an escort for the memorial that will start at the Hat Six Truck Stop and end at Casper College. The scheduled time for the escort is Saturday, June 18 at 3:30 p.m. It will feature 100 different motorcycles and other vehicles.
Monday, June 20 at 5:30 p.m. at the Gateway Building 2nd Floor, there will be an opening ceremony that will have special guests Governor Mark Gordon and Mike Strahle, the latter of which served with the fallen in this memorial.
There will be a military appreciation BBQ on Tuesday, June 21 at 5:30 p.m. at the upper lot of the Gateway Building sponsored by Casper Sinclair Refinery, where free food will be offered to all past and present service members.
The Eyes of Freedom Memorial seeks to honor all those who have, are currently, or will serve in the U.S. Armed Forces. It features life-size portraits that depict the fallen of Lima Company 3/25, which was one of the hardest hit units in Operation Iraqi Freedom.
The Eyes of Freedom Memorial, delivered to you by R+L Carriers, is a living traveling tribute that will continue to remind everyone of the costs of freedom.
There are full-size original paintings that are complete with the combat boots of the individuals that stand at the bottom of the portraits. This not only shows those that dedicated their lives to serve in the military, but also how much they sacrificed in doing so.
The experience comes to life with the full-time staff: Mike Strahle, a Purple Heart combat vet who served with the fallen in the paintings, and Sean Flaharty, the company’s historian and logistics director. Both staff members are experienced and eloquent public speakers.
The group’s new initiative is to focus on helping veterans and their families who are struggling with post-traumatic stress and suicide. Their goal is to provide awareness and emotional support, offer scholarships to the children of combat veteran suicide victims, and fund research for post-traumatic stress.
This traveling memorial will move your hearts, and hopes to show the depth of the sacrifices of those who have heard the nation’s call.
Here is a video of the last time the Eyes of Freedom made its way through Casper.
