2/7/2013 - Col. Daniel Dant, 460th Space Wing commander, addresses the audience just before the groundbreaking at the Colorado Freedom Memorial Feb. 2, 2013, in Aurora, Colo. The memorial is a 12-year effort led by Rick Crandall and members for the CFM Foundation. The memorial will list the names of all Colorado service members who died during combat operations on foreign soil since Colorado became a state. This is the first memorial of its kind, which names members from all service branches and all wars. (Colorado Air National Guard photo/Capt. Darin Overstreet)

2/7/2013 - Pvt. George Sakato, World War II Medal of Honor recipient, watches the groundbreaking ceremony for the Colorado Freedom Memorial Feb. 2, 2013, in Aurora, Colo. The memorial is a 12-year effort led by Rick Crandall and members for the CFM Foundation. The memorial will list the names of all Colorado service members from all branches and all wars who died during combat operations on foreign soil since Colorado became a state. This is the first memorial of its kind, which names members from all service branches and all wars. (Colorado Air National Guard photo/Capt. Darin Overstreet)

2/7/2013 - Ground is broken for the Colorado Freedom Memorial Feb. 2, 2013, in Aurora, Colo. The memorial is a 12-year effort led by Rick Crandall and members for the CFM Foundation. The memorial will list the names of all Colorado service members who died during combat operations on foreign soil since Colorado became a state. The first member named is Pvt. Fred Springstead, a Colorado National Guard member who was killed by a sniper during the Spanish-American War. He was also one of the first 10 Americans to be killed in that war. His comrades not only went on to capture Manila, but upon their return to Colorado, they formed the Veterans of Foreign Wars, naming Denver VFW Post 1. (Colorado Air National Guard photo/Capt. Darin Overstreet)