I just got a link to this in email today. In light of recent events in Iraq, I thought it was appropriate to post it here.
Thank God for people like this artist.
Posted on 04/01/2004 3:08:56 PM PST by ovrtaxt
This picture of the statue was made by an Iraqi artist named Kalat, who for years was forced by Saddam Hussein to make the many hundreds of bronze busts of Saddam that dotted Baghdad. This artist was so grateful that the Americans liberated his country, he melted 3 of the fallen Saddam heads and made a memorial statue dedicated to the American soldiers and their fallen comrades. Kalat worked on this night and day for several months. To the left of the kneeling soldier is a small Iraqi girl giving the soldier comfort as he mourns the loss of his comrade in arms. It is currently on display outside the palace that is now home to the 4th Infantry division. It will eventually be shipped and shown at the memorial museum in Fort Hood, Texas.
Origins: According to the Army News Service (ARNEWS), the text reproduced above is a relatively accurate description of the statue shown in the photograph accompanying it.
In July 2003, two statues of Saddam Hussein, which an Iraqi sculptor named Kalat had a hand in creating, were removed with explosives from outside a palace complex in Saddam's hometown of Tikrit, Iraq, where the U.S. Army's 4th Infantry Division headquarters group is located. The 555th Engineer Group cut up the bronze statues and shipped the pieces to Kalat, who using a photograph of 1st Sgt. Glen Simpson as a model spent several months fashioning them into a likeness of an American soldier kneeling to mourn a fallen comrade, while a young girl reaches out to comfort him in his time of grief.
According to ARNEWS:
The sculpture is based on a scene many in Iraq have witnessed in one form or another.
A Soldier kneels before a memorial of boots, rifle and helmet ? his forehead resting in the hollow of hiss hand. Behind and to his right stands a small Iraqi girl with her hand reaching out to touch his shoulder.
The statue evokes emotion. The girl was added to the statue to remind people of why the sacrifice was made, [Command Sgt. Maj. Chuck] Fuss said.
"It's about freedom for this country, but it's also about the children who will grow up in a free society," he said.
The statue will eventually be flown to the 4th Infantry Division museum at
Submitted by Bob Ohm
I just got a link to this in email today. In light of recent events in Iraq, I thought it was appropriate to post it here.
Thank God for people like this artist.
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RonDog - Get this to Hugh!!
Because if it were left standing unguarded in iraq, the local trash would immediately deface it. Its amaturish work anyway, I hope it ends up in a basement storeroom at Ft Hood.
That's a pretty nasty comment! I suppose you could do better.....
Yes, I could indeed make a much nastier comment.
Unlike you, I hope this statue is displayed for all to see.It shows the sacrifice our servicemen have made and the appreciation of the artist for that sacrifice.
Yeah one clown makes a statue from crumpled tinfoil and all you bleeding hearts shed a tear for our new friends the iraqis, meanwhile a mob is dragging decapitated charred bodies of Americans through the streets. Makes me sick.
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