Two statues recall Fallujah’s ‘Hell House’

Two statues recall Fallujah’s ‘Hell House’
Marine Corps Times
By Hope Hodge
Staff writer
Posted : Friday Mar 8, 2013

COURTESY HOPE FOR THE WARRIORS
Wyoming artist John Phelps created two copies of this monument, showing Marines carrying a wounded comrade during the 2004 Battle of Fallujah. The monuments will be placed at the entrance to Hope and Care centers for wounded warriors aboard Camp Lejeune, N.C. and Camp Pendleton, Calif.

A sculpture commemorating one of the most gripping images of Operation Iraqi Freedom will be unveiled Friday aboard Camp Lejeune.

Installed in front of the base’s Warrior Hope and Care Center, the statue depicts a 2004 photo snapped by freelance combat photographer Lucian Read showing wounded Marine 1st Sgt. Bradley Kasal, his uniform soaked in blood, being carried out of Fallujah’s famous “Hell House” by two lance corporals.

Kasal had entered the building when he saw that Marines were trapped inside, fighting with insurgents in close quarters. He and a few other Marines combed through the structure to find and rescue their wounded brothers-in-arms, getting hit repeatedly as they went by enemy gunfire and shrapnel.

Kasal would receive the Navy Cross for bravery that day under fire and despite severe wounds to both legs.

Wyoming sculptor John Phelps, who was commissioned to the project by the national nonprofit organization Hope for the Warriors, said the project has special meaning for him.

A Vietnam veteran, Phelps lost his son, Marine Lance Cpl. Chance Phelps to combat in Iraq in 2004, the year the photo was taken. The journey of Lance Cpl. Phelps home from the battlefield after he was killed by enemy fire is portrayed in the 2009 HBO film Taking Chance, starring Kevin Bacon.
read more here