By KATIE LIBECCO

By KATIE LIBECCO
VINDICATOR STAFF WRITER
HERMITAGE, Pa. -- About 60 names were added to the War on Terror Memorial on Thursday, including those of the 16 U.S. Marines assigned to the 3rd Battalion, 25th Marines based in Brook Park, Ohio.
More names are added to the memorial every Sunday, Tom Flynn said. He is the War on Terror Foundation president and owner of Hillcrest Memorial Park cemetery.
The War on Terror Memorial is located inside Hillcrest Memorial Park, 2630 E. State St., in Hermitage, Pa.
With the addition of 60 names Thursday, there are about 3,000 names engraved in the memorial.
The names date back to 1975 and include those killed by acts of terrorism and those who died fighting terrorism.
"We want this to be an educational resource where people can study the War on Terror," Flynn said.
The memorial
Hillcrest Memorial Park donated the two acres on which the War on Terror Foundation built the War on Terror Memorial. There is no charge to visit the memorial.
The foundation is a nonpolitical group established to honor military personnel who were killed fighting terrorism.
The memorial commemorates all who have died fighting for terrorism since 1975, including the Iranian Hostage Crisis and the 82 service members who died at the Pentagon in the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks.
All of the names are engraved by Darin Wesoloski, a U.S. Air Force Reservist at the Youngstown Air Reserve Station. His wife, Michelle, compiles the names of confirmed deaths every week.
Ground was originally broken for the monument Dec. 21, 2004, and it was opened Memorial Day, May 30, 2005. The memorial stands on the Avenue of 444 Flags, which commemorates each day of the Iranian Hostage Crisis from 1979-80.
The War on Terror Memorial consists of six stainless steel frames that hold panels of dark glass, on which the names are engraved. Each frame and panel monolith is 12 feet tall and 4 feet wide.
The memorial panels form a circle around a water fountain. Six panels are currently in place, but the seventh will be added shortly, Flynn said.
Design plans allow for two complete circles around the fountain, 12 in the interior circle and 11 in the exterior circle.
Web site
"With the memorial and the Web site [www.waronterror.org] we want to tell the story of the sacrifices these soldiers and their families made," Flynn said.
The War on Terror Foundation's Web site is devoted to housing biographies of U.S. military personnel and civilians killed in the war. Web design and programming are done by volunteer Michael Simpkins.
More information about those whose names are included in the memorial, photographs and information on the War on Terror are available on the Web site.
Donations to the War on Terror Foundation may also be made through www.waronterror.org.
The future
The memorial is a work-in-progress.
Sometime in 2006, the next addition will be completed. It will be two 45-foot-tall illuminated glass towers, symbolizing the World Trade Center. The towers will be connected by a golden eagle.
In 2007, a rotunda will be added with an eternal flame. The rotunda will include a computer kiosk where guests to the memorial will be able to look up a name and see that person's picture and biography.
The entire project is estimated to cost $5 million, Flynn said. It will be funded through private donations.
About $1 million have been raised to fund the memorial, Flynn said. He expects the project's costs to total around $5 million.
XFor more information on the War on Terror Foundation, contact info@waronterror.org or visit www.waronterror.org.