TAMPA, Fla. (WFLA) – A traveling war memorial will be installed in MacDill park to honor our nation’s fallen military on Wednesday morning.
Gold star families say the essence of the memorial is that a hero remembered never dies. A gold star family is one that lost a loved one while serving the country.
This is in the same park where there is a permanent monument installed by the Tampa organization, CRISP (Commitment. Respect. Integrity. Service. Pride.), to honor our fallen heroes.
A gold star family’s greatest fear is that their fallen will be forgotten, so CRISP is making sure their legacy lives on.
“I miss him and when I see his face on this display it melts my heart but it also fills me with pride,” said Toni Gross, a gold star mother:
Gross lost her only son Army Cpl. Frank Gross on July 16, 2011. He was killed by an IED in Afghanistan.
“Remembering Florida’s fallen helps to highlight the service and sacrifice of our Goldstar families as well as our veterans and our active duty,” she said.
The exhibit includes 32 tribute towers with military and personal photos with more than 5,000 and of our nation’s fallen heroes since 9/11. It serves as a reminder of the ultimate sacrifice made by those who served in Iraq and Afghanistan.
“It’ll bring our community together again help us unite, remember and just honor these families,” said General Chip Diehl, CRISP board member.
Gen. Diehl was born on MacDill Air Force Base and later became the base wing commanded the base. Then Gen. Diehl went to serve at the pentagon and was there during the 9/11 attack. Gen. Diehl retired after serving for 30 years.
Goldstar families, again, we cannot forget them we have to keep their arms around them,” he said.
The war memorial is free and open to the public through Sunday, March 20.