A Marine veteran is on a mission to honor fallen soldiers.
Cliff Leonard, who served in Vietnam, uses his artistic skills to create sculptures of Marines and Navy corpsmen who have been killed in Iraq or Afghanistan.
He started with a fallen Marine from Jacksonville, Florida, in 2010, and then he decided to do all the Marines and corpsmen in the city.
He doesn’t charge anything for the busts, instead taking “payment” in honoring the fallen and giving their families something to keep their memories alive.
“I just look at these guys as my little brothers,” Leonard said. “And I would like for their memory to live on as long as possible.”
Leonard’s most recent sculpture was of Private First Class Christopher Cobb, who was killed in a gun battle in Iraq in 2004.
His mother, Sheila Cobb, said the bust gave her a piece of her heart back.
“Thank you for doing that,” she tearfully told Leonard, looking at the statue. “That’s his nose and everything.”
Leonard has approximately 35 more statues to go in Florida.
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my son lcpl travis james layfield was also killed in ramadi april 6,2004.we as parents never get over this.it feels like i am standing on the edge of a very black endless pit and all i have to do is take that step.i may not die but i know i will never come back.i hurt so much will it ever stop.i try and stay positive but theres a part of me thats been taken away i am not whole anymore.i would love to have a bust of my son…….thank you and god bless you leonard!!!!!
LIttle late Mr Layfield — you can find me on Facebook — please drop me a note! Semper Fi, Cliff R Leonard
Besides your talent….you have a good heart Leonard….Semper Fi…
Thank You — SF
A wonderful way to remember the fallen. May God bless you and your efforts. Nit picking here, but if the statues are Sailors and Marines, then why did the header use the word, “soldiers”?
Looking at the picture, it appears to be a TV News report. A lot of reporters don’t know the difference from a Marine and a Soldier.
Thank you!