Rows upon rows of weathered combat boots, some decorated with roses and photographs, others bearing only a name tag, lay gravely in the lobby of the David Letterman Communication and Media Building on Monday.
"Eyes Wide Open: An Exhibit on the Human Cost of War" came to Ball State University at the invitation of the Ball State Truth Movement, a group aimed at engaging students in conversation about the role government and corporations play in society.
The exhibit displays nearly 150 pairs of boots, each representing a soldier from Indiana who died in conflicts in Iraq and Afghanistan. However, three of the pairs that needed to be fixed were not on display.
At the beginning of the day 146 combat boots were displayed in the Letterman Building lobby. By the end of the day, there were 147.
Among the many people who walked soberly around the exhibit in the lobby Monday were Kenny and Rhonda Kirkpatrick, whose son's name was on a tag of one of the pairs of boots.
Army Pfc. David Kirkpatrick died April 27, 2007, from injuries sustained by an improvised explosive device that detonated while he was in a Humvee during combat operations in Fallujah.
His parents came to the exhibit Monday to put roses in his and three of his friends' boots.
"I think it's nice to remember the guys," Rhonda Kirkpatrick said. "We try to do as many of these things as we can, it's all you can do."
The Kirkpatricks said they aren't angry with the government or the previous administration, despite losing their son.
"It's a big price to pay ... " Kenny Kirkpatrick said. "But we don't regret anything the government or the previous president have done, they were doing what they thought was best for the country."
Erin Polley, the Indiana coordinator for the exhibit, said it's owned by the American Friends Service Committee and was intended to create a solemn memorial for soldiers killed in conflicts in Iraq and Afghanistan and raise awareness of the lives lost in the war on terror.
The AFSC first premiered the exhibit, featuring combat boots for every U.S. casualty in Iraq, in Chicago in January 2004 and brought it to more than 70 cities the three years following. When the final display of the full exhibit ended on May 28, 2007 in Chicago, the AFSC divided the exhibit up by state.
Since March 2008, the exhibit has been displayed at universities, high schools, war memorials and public parks across the state.
"As I've been working on the exhibit I've become more personally invested with veterans and the family and friends of fallen soldiers," Polley said. "I feel that it is my duty to carry the exhibit across the state."
The first day of the exhibit received overwhelmingly positive feedback, Polley added.
Matthew Ping, a junior residential property management major said he found the exhibit to be rewarding.
"It lets people remember who we've lost," he said. "It lets people know that the toll of war is not just money."
The exhibit will be on display again from 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. and will conclude with a speech from former Marine Sgt. Ken Mills.
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