Military officials said Monday that they need thousands of combat boots for an annual tribute to fallen troops.
More than 7,000 boots will be lined up on the field at Hendrix Stadium at Fort Bragg, starting May 15. Each boot honors a service member who died since the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks.
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The vast majority of those deaths, more than 6,500, were combat related, while the rest were service members who died from medical illnesses, homicides, suicides and traffic accidents.
Inez Barbour's husband, Army Staff Sgt. Marvin Barbour, died in a motorcycle accident in 2015. She and her children decorated a boot in his honor the following year.
"It's a great opportunity for you to display your love for your soldier, and it's a great way to see that you're not the only person that goes through this," Barbour said. "When you look out there and see all of those boots, you know you're not the only person, you're not alone."
But Fort Bragg's Survivor Outreach Services needs 4,000 boots for this year's display to replace boots that have been damaged over the years because of weather.
"The boots represent the sacrifices not only of the soldier who gave the ultimate sacrifice, but the sacrifices that our families have day after day after day," said Charlotte Watson, Survivor Outreach Services program manager.
"It just lets us know that his life mattered and who he was as a soldier still counts," Barbour said. "His brothers are still out there saying, 'We did not forget you. We remember you, and we still honor your fight and everything that you did.'"
The boots can be donated at three locations on Fort Bragg: Survivor Outreach Services, Soldier and Family Readiness Group Center and the main lobby of the Soldier Support Center. Organizers ask that donations be made by April 17 so the boots can be prepared for the display, which is part of the Run, Honor, Remember 5K race on post on May 16.
For more information on boot donation, call 910-396-0384.