Lest They Be Forgotten, an organization dedicated to building a memorial for every soldier killed in Iraq, on Friday dedicated its first monument, in honor of an Alabama soldier killed alongside the son of the group’s founder.

The ceremony for Sgt. Jason Jordan, who was killed in an ambush outside Tall Afar in July 2003, took place in the city of Elba’s Veterans Memorial Park and attracted several hundred mourners, including members of Jordan’s 101st Airborne unit from Kentucky.

The display — a helmet on a rifle accompanied by a plaque with Jordan’s name — was designed and paid for by the nonprofit group, founded by Florida resident Gregg Garvey, whose son Justin was killed fighting alongside Jordan when the ambush took place.

Garvey said he felt the funeral and memorial services held for his son, although moving, were not enough to honor his son’s sacrifice.

So the former construction worker designed a memorial and founded Lest They Be Forgotten, and decided that Jordan’s memorial would be the first dedicated.

“It was a promise I made to my son [after his death], that the first one would be dedicated to Jason,” he said. “I collected some dirt from the grave sites [of several unit soldiers] and mixed it in with the concrete so they’re all there together. They’re all brothers.”

Garvey, who worked full-time on the effort for most of the past year, and other group members have raised enough to pay for about 30 of the $7,500 monuments, and are working to expand fund-raising even further.

They have also designed a flag bearing the words “Lest they be forgotten” to raise money and commemorate fallen troops.

“I’m determined that the flag will become as recognizable to this generation as the POW-MIA flag was to my generation,” Garvey said, noting that several veterans organizations have already begun using the symbol.

Plans are in place to dedicate Justin Garvey’s memorial this May in Vermont, where he grew up.

For more information, go to: www.lesttheybeforgotten.org

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