UNLV Student Veterans Organization plans memorial

With head bowed, the Marine rests a hand on a helmet mounted atop the butt of a rifle. Salazar’s dog tags dangle from the grip. His boots are empty.

That was the scene captured in the award-winning photo by Jim MacMillan near Ramadi, Iraq, on Oct. 18, 2004.

The symbolic helmet-rifle-boots image inspired a bronze memorial that student veterans at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas are designing to recognize Nevadans of all wars and eras who served in the U.S. military.

"All gave some. Some gave all," as the mantra goes, said Student Veterans Organization Vice President Antonio Montenegro in announcing the effort to build such a memorial by Veterans Day, Nov. 11.

On Tuesday, the first pledges for more than $2,500 for the memorial were made at a gathering of veterans groups at UNLV, where hundreds of prior-service students go to the same university that Army Lt. Col. Karen J. Wagner attended in the early 1980s.

Wagner played on the Lady Rebels basketball team, participated in the ROTC program and graduated in 1982. She had a career in the Army’s Medical Service Corps that ended Sept. 11, 2001, when she was killed by the hijacked jetliner that slammed into the Pentagon.

"She personifies what the Rebel spirit is about. Loyalty to the campus, loyalty to your nation, loyalty to your community. Duty. Respect. Selfless service. Honor. Integrity. Personal courage," said Lt. Col. Dan Waters, military science professor and commander of Army ROTC at UNLV.

Since Wagner’s death, 62 soldiers, sailors, Marines and airmen with ties to Nevada have died in the Iraq and Afghanistan wars.

Salazar, a 26-year-old combat photographer killed in a car bomb attack in Karabilah, Iraq, is 12th on the list. He attended college to learn computer graphic design but joined the Marines after the 2001 terrorist attacks.

Although Las Vegas has other memorials for veterans, John Ferrin, in the university’s dental program, believes there needs to be a place on campus to recognize them.

His brother, Army Sgt. Clint Ferrin, was killed by a roadside bomb blast in Baghdad on March 14, 2004.

"I hope this improves awareness of what veterans do, not only those who’ve been in the combat zone but also those who were willing to go to a combat zone," John Ferrin said.

"I think it will be a great opportunity to bring to people’s minds what these veterans do because people like my brother gave their lives and others are prepared to give their lives."

For information about the Student Veterans Organization memorial effort, contact Montenegro or President Michael Dakduk by sending an e-mail to svo@unlv.nevada.edu.

Contact reporter Keith Rogers at krogers@reviewjournal.com or 702-383-0308.