BARNESVILLE — Festival-goers and veterans have been visiting the Barnesville Middle School cafeteria for the Eyes of Freedom: Lima Company Memorial which will remain set up for the remainder of the Pumpkin Festival.

Sean Flaharty, team member at the Eyes of Freedom, said that he has spent the last couple of days talking with people visiting the memorial.

“A lot of veterans and people who have family members who are veterans stop in and tell us their story. It’s really touching,” he said.

Flaharty said that he hopes the memorial helps veterans heal from the trauma that they have experienced.

This is the nonprofit’s third year setting up in Barnesville during the festival.

The organization is displaying eight life-sized paintings that depict the 23 fallen Marines and Navy Corpsmen of Columbus-based Lima Company of 2005, one of the most heavily engaged units of Operation Iraqi Freedom.

In addition to the paintings, the memorial also includes a life-sized, bronzed sculpture of a serviceman seated with his head down titled “The Silent Battle.”

According to the organization’s website, “his face depicts emotions of the internal Silent Battle, as the touchable work is aptly named. He represents our nation’s veterans who struggle with suicide and post-traumatic stress, as they navigate life after combat.”

The organization also has blank dog tags available, and visitors can write the name of a loved one struggling with PTSD on a tag. The tags are left with the sculpture and travel with Silent Battle. The sculpture currently sits surrounded by tags.

The memorial also features a flag with the Eyes of Freedom logo that visitors can sign. Flaharty said that the flag will be given to Barnesville Elementary School when the festival ends.

“We leave a flag behind wherever we go,” he said.

The memorial also has the boots and some personal items belonging to the fallen soldiers on display next to each painting. Some of the boots still have sand on them from the war in Iraq. One of the items on display is a photocopy of a letter written by one of the soldiers to his family. The letter is titled “If I don’t come home.”

“It’s pretty emotional,” Flaharty said.

The memorial features magnetic maps, and visitors can place a magnet where they or a family member has served.

Along with the memorial, several local organizations that support and provide resources for veterans have information tables set up in the middle school.

The exhibit will be free and open to the public from noon to 8 p.m. Saturday and from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. on Sunday. Barnesville Middle School is located at 970 Shamrock Drive.

The Pumpkin Festival Committee is providing a shuttle bus that will run continuously from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. on Saturday except during the parade which starts at 12:45 p.m. The shuttle bus will take festival-goers to and from the high school and middle school and will stop at the corner of Main and Chestnut Streets in front of Ohio Hills Health Center. Festival parking will also be available at the schools.

The Eyes of Freedom Memorial arrived in Barnesville on Sunday and was escorted by first responders and motorcyclists. The memorial was open for students on Monday and Tuesday and opened to the public on Wednesday.

The Eyes of Freedom Traveling Memorial is based out of Columbus and travels nationwide in memory of all who have served and sacrificed for our country, with an additional focus on veterans suffering from PTSD and other mental health issues. According to the organization’s website, it has traveled to 32 states for over 330 events.

For more information, visit eyesoffreedom.org.