Medical Laser Specialists Honor Fallen Soldiers
Online, April 10, 2012 (Newswire.com) - When the first casualties of the Iraq war were announced in 2003, Dr. Asher Milgrom, president and chief scientist at AMA Skincare, and his wife Dr. Alice Pien, clinical director of AMA Skincare, yearned to find a way to honor these men and women. Just one week after the war started, the pair quickly gathered friends and family to build simple wooden sentinels for each fallen troop.
"My wife and and her family are refugees from communist China," said Dr. Asher Milgrom. "In my family, only a handful of my parent's generation managed to escape extermination in the Nazi holocaust. Needless to say, we were always grateful to live in the oasis of freedom known as America. How could we not honor those who pay the price so we can live in freedom?"
Each sentinel was adorned with a plaque bearing the name, rank and age of a fallen hero. The homemade memorials were then hammered into the ground of the nearby Northwood Community Park. Dr. Asher Milgrom and a group of dedicated residents placed a votive candle and a cup of flowers on each sentinel. Over the years, hundreds of sentinels were added to the collection as family members, Orange County residents and fellow veterans continued to build up what Dr. Asher Milgrom founded. For years, each night at sunset hundreds of local residents attended a candle lighting ceremony to pay their respects and teach their children about "honor and gratitude".
"It was stunning," said Dr. Asher Milgrom. "It wasn't organized and there were no politics involved. It was spontaneous, organic and an utterly natural outpouring of people's hearts. People simply came to offer gratitude and honor."
After several years, the city of Irvine set aside $150,000 for Dr. Asher Milgrom's cause to have a permanent memorial erected in honor of the fallen heroes of the Iraq and Afghanistan wars. In 2009 the city of Irvine approved the design and plans for the memorial. Dr. Asher Milgrom wanted each soldier to individually be represented and the city's plans brought this to fruition. A permanent memorial was successfully erected in 2010, nearly seven years after Dr. Asher Milgrom hammered the first sentinel into the ground. The memorial now stands at the corner of Bryan and Yale avenues in the city Irvine. The Northwood Gratitude and Honor Memorial recognizes over 6,000 fallen service men and women who were killed in the Iraq and Afghanistan wars.
Dr. Asher Milgrom says he and other local business leaders can help continually honor fallen soldiers by supporting their fellow veterans. Dr.'s Asher Milgrom and Alice Pien's world-renowned skincare clinic, AMA Skincare, treats service men and women returning from combat free of charge and active duty personnel at cost.
"We consider it a privilege to care for them, especially those wounded in action," said Dr. Asher Milgrom. "It is the least we can do for them."
As the election year wages on, Dr. Asher Milgrom says honoring these fallen men and women should still be at the forefront of our minds. He says service men and women are often forgotten in the tense political discussion.
"This is a good time to think about those who are paying the price every day over there so we can have the luxury and freedom to debate over here," said Dr. Asher Milgrom. "It is important that all arguments from all quarters bow their heated rhetoric in 'honor and gratitude' for those who quietly make our freedom possible."
To view a 10 minute documentary video of the original memorial go to:
http://www.northwoodmemorial.com/MediaGallery/2003GDProductionsDocumentaryVideo/tabid/56/Default.aspx
If you'd like more information about this topic or to schedule an interview with Dr. Asher Milgrom, please call AMA Skincare at 949.428.4500 or email AMA Skincare at info@amaskincare.com. http://www.amaskincare.com