Airmen unveil memorial, raise money to honor families of fallen Iraqi comrades

  • Published
  • By Senior Airman Mindy Bloem
  • 506th Air Expeditionary Group Public Affairs
KIRKUK AIR BASE, Iraq (AFNS) --  Members of the 506th Civil Engineer Squadron Explosive Ordnance Disposal team here and Iraqi officials and family members gathered together Feb. 23 at Kirkuk Air Base for an unveiling ceremony of a memorial wall painted to honor three Iraqi men killed by the improvised explosive device attack last year.

On Aug. 12, 2009, three members of an Iraqi police counter explosive team responded to a possible vehicle born IED in downtown Kirkuk City, when the IED went off, killing all three men.

The wall displayed the likeness of the three men and included their names -- Saman Barzan Mohamed, Ahmed Salih Rasheed, Twana Salam Salim -- printed boldly in black to be forever remembered.

Salam Hama Salim, the father of Twana, spoke about his son's memory.

"My son was very funny and friendly with everybody," the father said through an interpreter. "Everyone who worked with him liked him. I feel honored, and it's a special day for us, especially with all the respect the EOD guys have shown my son."

The artist of the wall, Tech. Sgt. Eric Eberhard, an EOD team leader deployed from Hill Air Force Base, Utah, spoke at the ceremony regarding the symbolism of the wall.

"The black and white theme is a representation of the EOD motto: Initial success or total failure," Sergeant Eberhard said. "The red stripes are blood stripes -- in memory of those who have paid the price for freedom with their own blood. The flag represents the country and people these men served. The EOD badge represents the brotherhood and partnership that is displayed in our joint effort to make the world a safer place. The EOD technician working on an IED represents one of their own in the process of performing dangerous and selfless duties. The Arabic script reads, 'We will never forget,' meaning their sacrifice will be remembered by all who look upon the mural. The black diagonal stripe in the top left corner is a cultural emblem. In Iraq it is placed upon pictures and images of those who have passed on.

"My hope is that the mural will help strengthen the bond we have formed with the Iraqi EOD technicians, as it is a display of support and dedication in our effort to see them succeed," Sergeant Eberhard added. "They come to our compound often and will be reminded of the selfless sacrifice those who came before them have made."

At the close of the ceremony, the attending family members were called up to receive certificates of appreciation from the EOD team.

Following the ceremony, EOD members gathered the families together to give them a check for $1,600, a sum total collected on their behalf during this past December's bomb suit run. For the fundraiser, three members from EOD ran a 5K while wearing an 80-pound bomb suit.

"In the states we have a good network built up for the fallen warriors and EOD warriors, but they don't have anything like that in Iraq," said Senior Master Sgt. Albert Schneider, the 506th EOD flight chief deployed from Eielson AFB, Alaska. (The EOD team) got together and planned a bomb suit run and raised approximately $1,600 for the families."

According to Sergeant Schneider, the homage being rendered should come as no surprise since that's what a team is all about.

"EOD, whether it's Iraqi EOD or U.S. EOD, is one big family," he said. "And if something bad happens to one of us, it's felt by all of us. I just want their sacrifice to be remembered. It is a dangerous job. They volunteered to do it. No one made them. They did it out of love for their people and fellow Iraqis, and their sacrifice should always be remembered."