In 2007, Massachusetts artist Julie Feingold set out to craft an homage to America's fallen servicemembers. Though she had no connection to the military herself, Feingold, like many, was impacted by the number of casualties in the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq.

As an artist, she wanted to create "a work of art that would honor and tell the stories of those who gave their lives since 9/11 in Iraq and Afghanistan" she writes on the website www.heart2hand4art.com.

The result, two years in the making, is a 5 1/2 by 15-foot quilt entitled the "Lost Heroes Art Quilt." Seen as a whole, the exhibit is a colorful, folksy piece of art. On closer inspection, however, viewers note the 50 individual squares, each containing a childhood photo of a fallen servicemember tucked into a real G.I. Joe uniform. Screen printed around each square are traits of the servicemember - such as ‘loved life and adventure' and ‘had 5 cats!' - that provide a glimpse of who that individual was in life.

Though Feingold had been a painter, she turned to fabric arts and decided on a quilt for the project because "quilts by their nature evoke warm feelings of love, family, history and healing," she writes. She reached out to the American Gold Star Mothers for stories, inspiration and childhood photographs of America's fallen. "It is my sincere hope that the ‘Lost Heroes Art Quilt' will help the healing of families of the fallen," she writes, "(and) bring awareness to the American public about the selfless devotion of the young men and women who protect our nation's freedom."

The quilt is on display at the American Lake Community Center on Joint Base Lewis-McChord North and will remain there through this weekend's Tragedy Assistance Program for Survivors (TAPS) Survivor Seminar and Good Grief Camp, which are slated for April 15 and 16.

For more information about the quilt, visit www.Heart2hand4art.com.