Veteran-honoring 'Eyes of Freedom' at Moorpark College

A tribute to one of the hardest-hit U.S. military units in the Iraq War is taking place this week at Moorpark College.

"The Eyes of Freedom: Lima Company Memorial," life-size portraits of the 23 fallen Marines of Lima Company 3/25, is on display in the college's campus center entrance and lobby area. The presentation is sponsored by the college's Veterans Resource Center.

"It is an honor to have this poignant memorial and art exhibit at Moorpark College," Ventura County Community College District Chancellor Bernard Luskin said in a news release announcing the display. "In recognition of all that our veterans have and continue to sacrifice, we hope this four-day visit will serve to educate our community, faculty, staff and students of the story of our brave servicemen and women."

The display is open to the public from 9 a.m. to 7 p.m. Tuesday and Wednesday, and from 9 a.m. to noon Thursday. A kickoff reception was held Monday.

In January of 2005, 180 members of Lima Company, 3rd Battalion, 25th Marines, a Reserve unit based in Columbus, Ohio, left to serve in Operation Iraqi Freedom. They lost 22 Marines and a Navy corpsman near Haditha. 

With help from those who returned and the families of those who died, artist Anita Miller spent more than two years creating the tribute, which was first unveiled at the Ohio Statehouse Rotunda in May 2008. It now travels throughout the country.