Special outdoor exhibit ‘Eyes of Freedom’ honors service members from Iraqi War, all military
In spring 2005, the Lima Company U.S. Marine reserve unit with attached U.S. Navy corps deployed to Iraq as part of Operation Iraqi Freedom.
By August that year, Marines and one Navy corpsman had been killed in action.
Lima Company, or L-Co., suffered some of the heaviest casualties of the Iraq War, according to the Marine Times.
Their sacrifice and the outpouring of grief for their families and the surviving Marines and Naval corpsman inspired the traveling art exhibit “Eyes of Freedom,” a multi-media tribute dedicated to the service and sacrifice of Company L and of all service members.
“Eyes of Freedom” will be on display from Saturday, Oct. 3, through Monday, Oct. 5, at Spiegel Grove, the grounds of the Hayes Presidential Library & Museums and an accredited arboretum.
Access to the exhibit is free. It will be outside, so visitors should dress for the weather. The exhibit is open from dawn until dusk Saturday, Oct. 3, and Sunday, Oct. 4. The exhibit will close 5 p.m. on Monday, Oct. 5.
“We are honored to host the Eyes of Freedom memorial exhibit on the grounds of Spiegel Grove, the same grounds President Hayes and First Lady Lucy hosted numerous military reunions and welcomed countless veterans over the years,” said Julie Mayle, Hayes Presidential curator of manuscripts.
“Eyes of Freedom” is part of Hayes Presidential’s America 250 celebration. It also is at Spiegel Grove coinciding with President Hayes’ birthday, which is Sunday, Oct. 4.
There will be a dedication ceremony for the exhibit during the annual wreath laying at President Hayes’ tomb on Sunday, Oct. 4.
Events that day begin with the planting of a tree for America 250 at 1:30 p.m. and continue with the wreath-laying and exhibit dedication immediately after the tree planting. During the ceremony, Michelle White, “Eyes of Freedom” executive director of strategic development, will speak.
Admission to the Oct. 4 events is also free. Following the events on Sunday, Oct. 4, refreshments will be served on the lawn behind the Hayes Home.
Partial funding for America 250 events is provided by Albrechta & Liebold, Ltd., Attorneys at Law.
“Eyes of Freedom” features nine panels and the Silent Battle bronze sculpture. Columbus artist Anita Miller created the work after having a vivid dream. She described: “I awoke in the middle of the night with a start and hovering in front of me I saw life-sized paintings, displayed in a circle. People were milling around them leaving messages of love in the boots at the base of the portraits. Suddenly, the people disappeared, and a small crew of workers came in and dismantled the paintings as if they were moving it to a new location. I knew it was a traveling tribute to the fallen of Lima Company and I felt somehow, I was being asked to create it.”
Two and a half years later, after meeting and working with the families of the fallen, The Lima Company Memorial was unveiled in the Ohio Statehouse and was displayed before it began touring the country. To date, this exhibition has been displayed in 36 states and more than 420 events.
Hayes Presidential is America’s first presidential library and the forerunner of the federal presidential library system. It is partially funded by the state of Ohio and affiliated with the Ohio History Connection. Hayes Presidential is located at Spiegel Grove on Buckland Avenue.
For information, call 419-332-2081, or visit rbhayes.org. Like Hayes Presidential on Facebook and follow on Instagram at rbhayespres and on Bluesky at rbhayespres.bsky.social.