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Wall in Richmond honors sacrifice

May 23, 2008 12:15 am

RICHMOND

He pointed out the badge on Perrott's beret, the patch on his uniform's shoulder, the braids and insignias and bars across Perrott's chest, all of which told McDonnell that Perrott was a member of an elite, well-trained squad.

The words beside Perrott's picture told other parts of the story: that he was from the Fredericksburg area, and that he was killed in Afghanistan in June 2007.

Perrott is one of 170 soldiers pictured on the "Wall of Honor" in the lobby of the Attorney General's office in Richmond. The wall honors Virginia soldiers killed in the war on terror. Perrott and 28 other soldiers who were killed in the past year, including two others from the Fredericksburg area, joined that wall yesterday, with the second annual ceremony to honor them.

McDonnell began the wall last year, after being inspired by a state trooper whose son had been killed and who wanted McDonnell to find a place to display the state flag his son flew over his barracks.

McDonnell, whose own daughter served a tour in Iraq, thought the state needed a place to pay tribute to soldiers who were from Virginia or who were stationed in Virginia, so their families wouldn't feel they'd been forgotten.

"We just did such a poor job after the Vietnam War honoring the 57,000 men and women who died there," he said.

Displaying the pictures, as well as the names, makes it especially personal, McDonnell said.

"I walk by this a couple of times a week, and to me it's still very moving. Because of the faces," he said. "A name is one thing, but when you see the face you look in the eyes and think about all the lives that person might have touched,"

Perrott, in his picture, stands before a concrete wall, wearing his uniform and beret. He was 23 when he died, married, a graduate of Chancellor High School. He was a paratrooper with the 2nd Battalion, 508th Parachute Infantry Regiment, 4th Brigade Combat Team, 82nd Airborne Division out of Fort Bragg, N.C.

A few spaces down the wall, Army Col. Jon Lockey, of Stafford, who died in Iraq in July 2007, is wearing a camouflage hat and giving a half-smile to the camera. A 22-year veteran, Lockey was a married father of two, assigned to Army headquarters in Washington.

First Lt. Benjamin Hall, whose parents live in Fredericksburg, is wearing a beret and camouflage uniform, staring seriously into the camera in front of a flag. He was 24, an Army Ranger, killed in Afghanistan in August 2007.

Those three pictures join those of three other men from the area--Cpl. Chris Weaver, Sgt. Nick Mason, and Sgt. David Ruhren--who have been killed in Iraq or Afghanistan since 2000. The wall now has 170 names and faces.

The ceremony featured speeches by several generals, a 21-gun salute, and fly-overs by Black Hawk helicopters and F-18 fighter jets.

The speakers emphasized the value of the sacrifices made by military members and their families.

"We must continue to embrace this new generation of veterans and their families," said Maj. Gen. John P. McLaren Jr., commanding general of the 99th Regional Readiness Command in the U.S. Army Reserve. "We, as a nation, owe a great debt of service."

Retired Col. James W. Hopper of the United States Army Reserve said the generals at the podiums couldn't tell the families of the dead men and women that the loss will ever get easier.

But they can, he said, "always let you know that your loss of your loved one will be remembered. The service of your loved ones is not taken lightly or for granted."

Perrott's sister, Angie Barr, and several other family members attended the ceremony yesterday. An emotional Barr sat holding a toddler as she said the commemoration was hard to sit through, but touching.

"It's really special that they go out of their way to do it," she said. "This is special."