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.
The statues were cut into pieces by the 555th Engineer Group and shipped to Kalat who reshaped the chunks of bronze into
a likeness of an American Soldier. A small girl comforts the Soldier as he mourns a fallen comrade.
The likeness was fashioned from a photograph of 1st Sgt. Glen Simpson, the former HHC first sergeant, who knelt for a
picture that has become an immortal portrait in bronze, said Command Sgt. Maj. Chuck Fuss, 4th Inf. Div. command sergeant
major.
Kalat spent several months sculpting and casting the statue.
“Though he created the original statues of Saddam along with another artist, he created the 4th Infantry Division
memorial through his own design,” Anderson said.
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 his 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, 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.
Fuss and Anderson credited the Soldiers’ generosity and Simpson’s vision for the lasting gift that, in the
end, remembers fallen comrades.
“I think this is the best way we can honor their families and their memories,” Fuss said.
“Really that’s what it’s for - a tribute to all the Soldiers over here who lost their lives,”
Anderson said. “They will never be forgotten and they will always be heroes in our eyes.”
