A marine salutes during the grand opening of the Utah Freedom Memorial Friday, May 16, 2014, at Salem City Hall.

Hugh Carey, Deseret News

SANDY For Tony and Amy Galvez, losing a son in the U.S. Marines Corps to insurgent forces in Iraq is something they think about every day.

"It's not something you get over," Tony Galvez said.

But the family now has a new place to go and remember their soldier.

Sandy City dedicated the "Utah Freedom Memorial" last week, located just south of Sandy City Hall. The memorial was erected to honor men and women of the nation's armed forces and to instill greater appreciation of freedom among youth.

Friday's dedication ceremony was a moment Tony Galvez has been working toward for more than seven years alongside Sandy City.

"It's a Utah monument for not just the fallen it's not a death monument, it's a living monument," Galvez said. "It's for those who have served in the past, those who are currently serving and those who will serve in the future."

The monument centerpiece features a 15-foot-tall granite pentagonal obelisk, each side highlighting one of the five branches of the military. Interpretational panels also surround the monument, entitled, "Freedom Cherished Gratefully," "Battles Fought Courageously," "Loss Remembered Reverently," "Lives Altered Permenantly," and "Hope Held Faithfully."

A separate pillar features a "Cross & Vault" display intended to remember "the high cost of freedom." Opposite the display is the statue of a woman touching the reflection of the hand of her soldier, honoring "the courageous sacrifice of those who are left behind" during military deployments.

Originally posted here:

'Utah Freedom Memorial' in Sandy tells the cost of freedom