Visit photographs by Jerry Hanzl of conceptual art by Suzanne Parisien Frank "Fields of Remembrance 2007" taken May 5, 2007

Read the article published May 8th, 2007 in the Life Section of "Florida Today" Newspaper written by Pam Harbaugh.

The following text is what Pam Harbaugh wrote:

May 9, 2007
Flags honor fallen soldiers
"Conceptual art project represents 3,000-plus who died
BY PAM HARBAUGH
FLORIDA TODAY

Suzanne Frank looked over the rows and rows of makeshift flags flapping furiously in the wind. She wanted to make sure the posts were standing straight, that the red, white and blue bunting representing the flag was still firmly attached to the slender wooden stakes.
Together, they form the "Fields of Remembrance," a massive conceptual art project standing in front of the Unitarian Universalist Center on U.S. 1 south of Rockledge.
When the project is done, organizers expect there to be 3,200 shoulder-high flagpoles representing the number of American soldiers who have fallen in Iraq and Afghanistan. "Each of them is a soldier," the Melbourne sculptor said. "An American soldier."
She hastened to add the project is neither political nor religious in nature. Instead, it is public art designed to help people visualize the numbers of "fallen heroes." She also wants people to consider not only the soldiers who gave their lives, but also the thousands of loved ones still grieving for their losses.
Already, 2,500 5-foot poles have been erected by church members and others from the community. More will be added beginning 8 a.m. Friday and Saturday. Frank hopes the display will remain up through the end of June. During Memorial Day weekend, the church will hold a ceremony honoring fallen American soldiers at 5 p.m. May 26, 2007.
Taking a walk during his break from work, 34-year-old Brandon Fritz of Melbourne looked at the project.
"It's amazing what they stand for," he said, "actual lives."
Frank came up with the idea after her grandson, Airman 1st Class Jason Frank, returned from a six-month tour in Afghanistan. "He came back all in one piece, and I was just so grateful and with all this worrying about him, I think that's where the dream, this vision came from."
She and her husband, author Marshall Frank, began the project six months ago. They began collecting scrap wood and received a $200 donation for the plastic bunting. Volunteers from the community helped hammer the flagpoles into the ground last weekend. She said the work was emotional and labor intensive, with tears and sweat mixing into one effort.
"It's such a feeling when you're here," Frank said. "Every one represents one of the fallen soldiers. I don't want politics in this. I don't want religion in this. All I want is to get people to have an appreciation of what 3,000 looks like. When you see it you say, 'Oh my God. All these families. All these sisters. All these brothers, fathers and mothers.' " At this point, there are no names written on the flagpoles. Frank and her husband said that would have been too "daunting a task." However, they would happily welcome a volunteer bringing a marker and writing the names of the fallen soldiers on the wooden poles.
Whether the flags will remain on display depends on how they can withstand the weather. "I just met a woman at Wal-Mart," Frank said. "She had tears in her eyes. Her son died in Iraq. . . . It made me so much more empowered to finish this. "I thought at least I'm doing something.
This is for your son."

Contact Harbaugh at 242-3717 or pharbaugh@floridatoday.com.