Ross 4-H Youth Donates Fair Check Money To Lima Company Memorial

A Ross County 4-H member has shown that he’s learned the lesson of giving unto others, with a donation of half his junior fair livestock check to The Eyes of Freedom: Lima Company Memorial.

Cole Barker of the Jefferson Livestock 4-H Club shows market hogs at the Ross County Fair as well as year-round at jackpot shows.

Cole met with Corporal Mike Strahl, who is the executive director of the Lima Company Memorial, who also served with and was wounded during one of the attacks where six of the company were lost.

Watch our Litter Media LIVE Special Edition interview Mike Smith and Cole Barker by clicking the photo below:

(Photo: L-R Cpl. Mike Strahl & Cole Barker- Courtesy of Ross County/OSU 4-H Extension)

The Lima Memorial is a traveling memorial dedicated to honoring the service and sacrifice of the 23 Lima Company men, including 22 Marines and a Navy corpsman, who lost their lives in 2005 in Iraq from IEDs and enemy fire. The men are painted on eight canvases that stand 8.5 feet tall and 6 feet wide. The memorial has toured the country helping people remember and grieve since 2008. “The memorial is also carrying on the legacy of the Lima Company men that were lost, as well as all the men and women that we have lost in all conflicts.”

The Barker Family teaches giving to their children, which has also been seen in Cole’s sister, Avery, who will be donating some of her fair check to 4-H camp scholarships.