Our Fallen Heroes:

Since 9/11/2001, The Naval Special Warfare community has lost many men. The Naval Special Warfare Foundation mourns the loss of each.

Afghanistan, 2008
SOCS John Marcum, Class 186
SOC Jason Freiwald, Class 215
SO1 Joshua Thomas Harris, Class 236
Iraq, 2008
SOC Nathan Hardy, Class 221
SOC Michael Koch, Class 224
PO1 Luis Souffront (EOD)
Training 2008
SO2 Shapoor "Alex" Ghane, Class 256
SOCS Thomas Valentine, Class 169
SOC Lance Vaccaro, Class 210
Iraq, 2007
Petty Officer 1st Class Jason D. Lewis, Class 212
Petty Officer 1st Class Steven P. Daugherty
Petty Officer 1st Class Robert R. McRill
Petty Officer 2nd Class Joseph Clark Schwedler, Class 246
Chief Petty Officer Mark T. Carter, Class 226

Training 2007
SN Freddie Porter, NSW Tech

Iraq, 2006
Petty Officer 2nd Class Marc Lee, Class 251
Petty Officer 2nd Class Michael A. Monsoor, Class 250

Afghanistan, 2005

· Chief Petty Officer Jacques J. Fontan, Class 219
· LCDR Erik S. Kristensen, Class 233
· Petty Officer 1st Class Jeffery A. Lucas, Class 191
· LT Michael M. McGreevy, Jr., Class 230
· Petty Officer 1st Class Jeffrey S. Taylor, Class 229
· Petty Office 2nd Class Danny P. Dietz, Class 232
· Senior Chief Petty Officer Daniel R. Healy, Class 176
· LT Michael P. Murphy, Class 236
· Petty Officer 2nd Class Shane E. Patton, Class 239
· Petty Officer 2nd Class James Suh, Class 237
· Petty Officer 2nd Class Matthew Axelson,Class 237
Afghanistan, 2004
Brian Ouellette, Class 173
United States, 2004

Theodore Fitzhenry, Class 130
Robert Vetter, SWCC
United States, 2003
Mario Maestas, Class 230
Afghanistan, 2003
David M. Tapper, Class 172
Thomas E. Retzer, Class 198
El Salvador, 2002
Peter G. Oswald, Class 153

Afghanistan, 2002

Neil Roberts, Class 184
Matthew Bourgeois, Class 162
Yemen, 2002

Jerry O. Pope, Class 165

Please support the Naval Special Warfare Foudation.

http://www.nswfoundation.org/

http://www.myhometownnews.net/index.php?id=57914

FORT PIERCE - At the UDT Navy SEAL Museum, small areas memorialize fallen SEALS from various conflicts.

But there's no one central memorial that honors the memory of all SEALS who died in the line of duty.

Mike Howard, executive director of the museum, said plans have been underway for more than a year to create such a memorial.

Many former SEALS and their families have expressed the need for such a memorial, he said.

He's hoping one will be completed either by the museum's annual muster event in November 2010, where former SEALS and UDT members gather for a weekend, or as early as Memorial Day that year, he said.

It's expected, he said, the memorial will contain the names of about 260 former SEALS or underwater demolition team members.

Those will include the names of 83 who died in World War II and 49 during Vietnam. So far, more than 40 have died in Iraq and Afghanistan, he said.

A number of others died in smaller conflicts, such as four at Grenada and at unspecified locations in that were classified missions, he said.

David Godshall, a member of the museum's board of directors, "took (creating the memorial) on in a personal way," Mr. Howard said. "It became a personal mission for him."

Mr. Godshall was unavailable for comment.

The project, to be built on the southeast side of the museum, will cost about $250,000, Mr. Howard said.

The museum received a $100,000 grant from St. Lucie County's Art in Public Places program, in large part, because of the support of Jon Ward, the county's former director of cultural affairs, he said.

Although the entire $250,000 hasn't been raised, enough of it has been to allow moving forward with the memorial, Mr. Howard said.

Paul Joaquin and Sons of Fort Pierce was chosen as the primary contractor for the project. St. Lucie County will provide landscaping.

Four artists were asked to submit small-scale models of the memorial, he said.

The museum's board chose sculptor Roy Shifrin of Vermont for the project.

Mr. Shifrin's sculpture will depict a SEAL. He has been sculpting for 40 years and has pieces in New York City, Orlando and Barcelona, Spain, among other places.

He said he wants to create a memorial that will be highly visible and one "in which the SEALS would have pride."

In New England, he said, there's a memorial at every village green.

"They're really not very exciting," he said. "They're not very memorable."

He wants to create a larger-than-life sculpture that depicts the mission of the SEALS and is artistic at the same time, he said.

Mr. Shifrin said his inspiration is that SEALS are underwater warriors who are able to "swim and attack and do their work underwater."

The sculpture will be cast in bronze with an internal structure that will allow it to withstand hurricanes, he said.

It will be on a 7-foot pedestal, making it easily visible to travelers passing by the museum, he said.

About the time working on the sculpture, he said: "One could almost say it's like a birth. It will take nine months."

For information about the museum or to support the project, visit www.navysealmuseum.com.

Just wanted to note that PO1 Luis Souffront was my best friend, brother, and was my roommate at EOD school. He was an awesome human being.