Text from the memorial:
This table has been set in honor of the warriors of the 1st Battalion, 24th Marines and the sacrifices of their families, brother Marines and communities. The Memorial is taken from the time-honored United States Marine Corps tradition of setting an empty table, designated as the "Fallen Comrade Table,” in the dining area of Unit Mess Nights, Marine Corps Birthday Balls, and where ever Marines gather in camaraderie. An engraved plate at each setting represents an individual from the 1st Battallion, 24th Marines who gave his life in Iraq, during a deployment from 2006 to 2007. Oriented toward Iraq, the table unites the legacy of the men's sacrifices with what they fought for half-way across the world.
First Battalion, 24th Marines Memorial is backed by an 85-foot-long, 11-foot-high limestone wall. A plaque and a granite table with place settings are engraved with the names of the 22 Marines who were killed in action and are remembered at the site. It is located behind the Chesterfield Township Hall at 47275 Sugarbush Rd, New Baltimore, MI 48047.
Article:
"A memorial to 22 Michigan Marines killed in Iraq was dedicated Sunday in Chesterfield Township.
The memorial, located behind the township offices, consists of the Fallen Comrade Table, a black granite table, decorated with 22 bronze plates for each of the Marines killed in combat after deployment to Al Anbar Province, Iraq in 2006-07. They were from the 1st Battalion, 24th Marines (1/24), a 900-member U.S. Marine Corps Reserve infantry battalion, headquartered at Selfridge ANG Base.
Despite the rain, several hundred people attended the event, which included a keynote address by Heather Gloczynski, the widow of Staff Sgt. Marcus Golczynski, who was killed in combat on March 27, 2007, near Baghdad.
Retired Master Sergeant Angelo Lema Jr. led an 11-year fundraising effort as the chairman of the 1/24 Memorial Committee, which built the memorial. “Not everybody makes it home and we don’t want to forget that,” Lema said.
In addition to the memorial honoring the Marines, a brick dedicated by the 1/24 Memorial Committee to former Free Press photographer David P. Gilkey is at the site. Gilkey was killed in June 2016 when an armored vehicle he was traveling in while on assignment in Afghanistan for NPR came under attack. In 2006, working for the Free Press, Gilkey and reporter Joe Swickard traveled to Iraq with the Marines to tell in words, photos and videos the stories of life on the front lines. The brick says “In Memory of David Gilkey, KIA, Freep Photographer.”
Fundraising efforts continue to create a perpetuity fund that will maintain the site and possibly create a scholarship fund in honor of the 22 Marines, according to Lema. “No donation is too small,” he said. Memorial bricks are available in two sizes — 8 inches by 8 inches for $100 and 4 inches by 8 inches for $75.