Oregon Website Honoring War Dead has New Freeway Billboard in Washington

Galloping Gerties restaurant helps a man on a mission.

Photo courtesy: Q. Madp/IraqWarHeroes.org

(LAKEWOOD, Wash.) - A new site is greeting freeway drivers on I-5 in the Lakewood/Tacoma, Washington area. A billboard for IraqWarheroes.org means promotion for a Website that honors those who have died in the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan.

IraqWarHeroes.org was started by Q. Madp of Portland as an effort to place an image and a few brief facts online about every person who paid the ultimate price.

Memories of Jane Fonda and spitting protesters during the Vietnam era haunt Q. and others like him he says, and this was his way of honoring our war dead.

Q. takes it one step further as the only person in the northwest who travels to almost every single military memorial and funeral service to photograph the event for the families.

He works by invitation, and he gives the family all of the photos and charges them nothing.

And now this hero for the fallen has a full sized billboard thanks to Sue Rothwell, the owner of Gerties restaurant.

She met Q. Madp when the busy photographer needed a place to park his car, during a soldier's memorial procession that was going to cross the Freedom Bridge.

"I was going to the freedom bridge to intercept another escort mission for one of our fallen heroes," he said.

The restaurant owner agreed to let Q. park there, and asked him, "Do you have any thoughts on who could use that billboard out there?"

"Yeah, me," Q. answered.

Rothwell then checked out the IraqWarHeroes.org Website. She emailed Q., asking if it was it OK to put his business card on it?

"I was thrilled" he said.

Galloping Gerties wasted no time in getting the artwork ready, and the massive message was created from the image on Q.'s business card.

"She said she was so moved with what I do, it was the perfect thing to put up there."

He says he was amazed at how fluid the generous donation of space really was, "They took my card and photo shopped it and got this done a month early."

He says it is fantastic, as the billboard is right along I-5. It may not be in every driver's line of view, but a KING-5 TV truck crew saw it today, and they stopped to videotape this new bit if freeway scenery.

"I've already gotten 15 emails over it, I think this is really going to help bring the site good awareness and exposure."

That tells Q. that it won't take long before hundreds and thousands of people have seen it, and the promotion will be good.

Q. works relentlessly on his mission as he calls it, he misses a lot of sleep and he spends a lot of cash on gasoline.

Q. Madp of IraqWarheroes.org

We have reached a point in this country where a man who dedicates himself to the honor of fallen military heroes struggles to buy the fuel needed to go from event to event.

Our hearts ache over the treatment of returning Vietnam vets, and here is something that provides the most opposite possible effect.

An Oregon car dealership should put their patriotic ambitions to the test and provide Q. Madp a car that will allow him to economically make it to these important events.

It is vitally important that Q. continues his mission. He needs a vehicle and gas and probably a part or two for his camera.

His awesome photographic work is in the northwest but his Website honors all Americans and people of other nations when Q. is provided the information.

The same holds true for the images and names of military contractors which Q. is happy to include on the site.

This billboard should help Q. and people reading this article should also, please begin by sending an email to: q@iraqwarheroes.com

It is a common site since 2003, to find people with American flags lining what is now known as the Freedom Bridge.

Q. says it is a heck of a good place to go; and Galloping Gerties too of course, "I am just so thankful, Sue is wonderful and the fact that she believes in what I am doing means everything."

Galloping Gerties is a historic establishment Q. says, dating back to 1952 that has always catered to local soldiers.