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OGDEN -- Dozens of Utah patriots this week will assemble one of the largest tributes to America's fallen heroes the state has ever seen. One of the organizers has a heartfelt reason to show his support.
Bob Lehmiller's son, Michael, died in Afghanistan in 2005. He wants to be certain we never forget that sacrifice.
In two days, Lehmiller and a team of volunteers will turn a 5-acre field of green at the Weber County Fairgrounds into a Healing Field.
Nearly 5,000 American flags will billow in the breeze: a tribute to the nearly 5,000 U.S. troops who made the ultimate sacrifice in conflicts of Iraq and Afghanistan. Each flag will bear a soldier's name and yellow ribbon.
"Every one of them will have a name out there on the field. People can come by. They can stroll through the field. They can look at those names. They can identify with the soldier," Lehmiller said.
Lehmiller has invested a lot of time in this tribute, and others in recent years. When people ask him why he does it, he says his hero, his son, should be more than a name on a monument.
"We thought we'd go the weekend before, and we have that whole week gearing up for the Patriot Guard. Everything would be up when they got here, then roll it through until their departure," Lehmiller said.
There are a number of events at the Healing Field, from July 23 through Aug. 3, including the centerpiece ceremony July 30.
E-mail: jboal@ksl.com
