A special veterans memorial, on a national tour, is making its first appearance in Colorado next week.

On Monday, September 7 the Patriot Guard Riders will be escorting the Remembering Our Fallen Memorial from Grand Junction to Montrose. They will leave at 9:00am from the Mesa County Fairgrounds as the memorial makes its way to Montrose. The Montrose Elks Lodge #1053 is the first to host the national memorial in Colorado.

The photographic memorial honors over 5,000 of the nation's post-911 fallen military personnel. There are also state-specific memorials that have been completed for many states, including Colorado.

The Remembering Our Fallen Memorial will be on display in Montrose September 7-13 with a special ceremony happening on Friday, September 11 at the Montrose Elks Lodge #1053 beginning at 9:00am.

According to US Veterans Magazine, the Remembering Our Fallen memorial was created back in 2010 by Bill and Evonne Williams of Patriotic Productions, . They wanted to honor the memory of those men and women who have paid the ultimate sacrifice and to provide comfort to friends and family of the fallen. The inspiration for the memorial came after they read a story in the Omaha World-Herald about a father who was experiencing tremendous grief and pain four years after his son had died in Iraq. The reason for his grief was the fear that his son had been forgotten. Most of us can not imagine what that feels like.

Of course, people who have experienced the loss of a loved one in war will never forget. But, it's memorials like this that help the rest of us to remember the sacrifices that have been made for our freedoms, and it puts a picture with the name. It reminds us these are real people - just like you and me - who had families, spouses, children and plans for their future -- only to have their lives cut short.

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