In a moving ceremony held at Freedom Park in Sulaymaniyah, Iraq, officials, family members, and journalists gathered to reveal a new monument dedicated to the "Guardians of Truth." This monument serves as a powerful tribute to the journalists who tragically lost their lives while reporting on the more than two decades of warfare that have plagued Iraq since 2003.

The monument, adorned with massive metal plates, features the names of 551 Iraqi and foreign journalists who were killed in the line of duty. Each name is inscribed in alphabetical order, accompanied by the corresponding year of their untimely demise. Among the revered names engraved on the monument are James Brolan and Paul Douglas, two CBS News journalists who were killed by a roadside bomb in Baghdad on May 29, 2006, while sound engineer James Brolan's colleague, Kimberly Dozier, sustained severe injuries in the same incident.

Even after their passing, CBS News' London bureau has continued to honor Brolan and Douglas, offering support to The Rory Peck Trust and Reporters Without Borders. Both of these organizations work tirelessly to protect and provide assistance to journalists and their families worldwide. Brolan and Douglas are also memorialized on a separate monument in Bayeux, France, with their colleagues embarking on a grueling 200-mile cycling journey from London in 2009 to raise funds in their memory.

Overseeing the creation of this poignant tribute is Qubad Talabani, Deputy Prime Minister of the Kurdistan Regional Government. In his address, Talabani conveyed that the monument signifies "a recognition of those fallen journalists' courage and commitment to tell the truth. It is an attempt to preserve and keep their names, their memories, alive. They are our heroes."

The majority of the names etched onto the monument belong to Iraqi journalists, who ultimately sacrificed their lives while reporting on the calamities and conflicts within their own country. Since 2003, journalism has remained an incredibly perilous profession in Iraq. "We saw more than 530 journalists sacrificed since 2003," stated Mouaid al-Lami, leader of the Iraqi Journalists Syndicate, during the unveiling of the monument. "It is an unprecedented number of fallen journalists in one single war."

Although most journalists present at the ceremony were not there to cover the event, they attended to pay their respects to their fallen friends and colleagues. Among them was Yassir Ismael, who tragically lost both his father and older brother in 2006 when they were working as journalists for The Associated Press in Baghdad. Overwhelmed by emotions, Ismael expressed his gratitude for the recognition bestowed upon the fallen journalists, stressing that the monument is "the first of its kind in Iraq."

"We are in debt to all those heroes," Ismael added, emphasizing the invaluable contributions made by foreign journalists who traveled to Iraq and helped to bring awareness to the sufferings endured by his homeland.

The unveiling of this monument serves as a powerful reminder of the immense sacrifices made by journalists who, through their fearless pursuit of truth, sought to shed light on the realities of war. It stands as a symbol of appreciation and reverence for their contributions, as well as a potent reminder of the ongoing importance of a free and independent press in Iraq and around the world.