LYNCHBURG, Va. -

It's called the Eyes of Freedom and you have to see it with your own eyes to realize how special it is.

Veterans gather every Friday at Monument Terrace in Lynchburg but on this Friday something different was going on.

As the veterans gathered, the Eyes of Freedom Memorial rolled in. Life sized portraits arrived of 22 young Marines and one Navy Corpsman - all from Ohio- all who lost their lives in Iraq.

Mike Strahle served with those men. "I was injured in one of the blasts that took six of these guys," Strahle said. "It's just dumb luck that I'm here and able to do this."

Strahle now travels the nation helping tell their story.

"We help a lot of veterans everywhere and I always tell people 'it's helped me the most,'" Strahle said.

Perhaps it's therapeutic, helping him deal with the loss by keeping their memory alive.

"It's done wonders for me and my family and I've seen it do wonders for veterans all over the country," Strahle said. "It's a really powerful thing."

The portrait artist from Ohio, Anita Miller, was inspired to paint these men even though she never knew them. She visited each family to learn their story.

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Eyes of Freedom Memorial arrives in Lynchburg