MURAL
The Story County Freedom Rock is located in Maxwell, IA at the NE corner of the Maxwell Park and the corner of Trotter Blvd and 2nd Street.
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The story of this rock started on May 30th, 2013 when we applied with Sorensen Studios for the Story County Freedom Rock and were accepted. Bubba finished painting the rock on June 6, 2015.
Bubba’s inspiration for the murals on the rock came from ideas generated by the local American Legion, and VFW and the history in Story County. The East side of the rock shows the AC130 "gunship" plane. When it fires its' anti-craft flares it's known as the "angel wings" display. The craft disperses smoke that looks similar to angel wings. In 1991, Maxwell lost one of their own residents and servicemen, Timothy Harrison, on the plane gunship “Spirit 03.” In Operation Desert Storm during the Battle of Khafji, “Spirit 03” was shot down by a surface-to-air missile while providing support for the Marines on the ground who were under heavy fire. All 14 crew members were killed. The loss of the crew of “Spirit 03” was the largest single loss by any Air Force unit during Operation Desert Storm. You can read more about “Spirit 03” by clicking here .
On the West side of the rock, Bubba was inspired by Story County Freedom Flights that are honoring and offered to WWII, Korea and Vietnam vets that live in Story County or resided in Story County when they joined. It is titled "One Last Mission."
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The North side of the rock entails an eagle clutching a gold and silver star, the Black Hawk helicopter, a rifle and boot with the fallen soldier’s tags with M.R. The initials are for Matthew Rierson. Matthew Rierson is a native to Nevada, Iowa and was part of the combat operations in Mogadishu, Somalia. (the movie "Black Hawk Down" was based on the incident). Rierson accompanied 2 downed helicopters and held his position while the body of the pilot was recovered. His heroic actions saved the lives of several comrades that cost his life on Oct. 4, 1993. You can read more about his awards at this website. https://valor.militarytimes.com/hero/23830.