Arlington South - Statesville NC

Submitted by jimstaro on Fri, 05/25/2007 - 21:27.

What a number of us were doing today, for the Memorial Weekend!

â€˜Arlington Cemetery of the Southâ€™ in Statesville

05:39 PM EDT on Friday, May 25, 2007

By MARK BOONE / WCNC

Crosses honor fallen Iraq soldiers
{Click on Photo for Video Report-Windows Media-Or visit site link for Video}

STATESVILLE, N.C. -- Nearly 3,500 wooden crosses were placed at a Statesville park Friday in a display its creators are calling the â€œArlington Cemetery of the South.â€

The project was spearheaded by Summer Lipford, an Iredell County mother whose son, Army PFC Steven Sirko, died in 2005 while serving in Iraq.

â€œThis is a lot, a lot of crosses, a lot of soldiers dead,â€ Warner told WCNC.

I have been putting together a video of the work that went into establishing this Arlington Memorial, that hopefully will be able to viewed early next week, with luck late in the day on monday.
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Field of crosses honors fallen troops

Submitted by jimstaro on Sat, 05/26/2007 - 08:06.

STATESVILLE --Field of crosses

Row after row, more than 3,400 white crosses stand in a Statesville park this weekend, offering a silent salute to every American who has died in the Iraq war.

For Lipford, the memorial is a tribute to her son, who died three months after arriving in Iraq, as well as to other people's sons and daughters.

Gritty as her smoker's voice, Lipford doesn't give up easily. Salty and irreverent, she still wears the "Mother of a Soldier" dog tag her son gave her. Her voice cracks when she talks about him. Tears come with a stew of sorrow, frustration and anger.

A few weeks ago, Lipford heard a news bulletin announced from a TV in the next room. She ran in, stubbing her toe in the rush. But it wasn't what she thought. The bulletin: The latest on Anna Nicole Smith's baby."All these soldiers are dying every day, and there's no news flash," she says. "I never hear soldiers being talked about. People are so not touched by the war."

For those near enough come and visit and reflect:
A 1:30 p.m. ceremony today will officially open the memorial. It's in Mac Anderson Park, on Race Street just west of downtown Statesville, about 40 miles north of Charlotte. The display will stay through Monday. It is named for Arlington National Cemetery near Washington, where more than 300,000 people are buried.

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Bring our Veterans All the Way Back - PTSD