It's called the Joe Project. It started with students gathering information about the 53 Kansas soldiers killed in the Iraq War. It has ended with a memorial that truly puts a face to every soldier lost.

"It brought a real world situation into their reality and that really made a difference," says Brandi Hendrix, a Truesdell Middle School teacher.

8th graders in Hendrix's class always get a lesson in current affairs and research, but this year it turned into the lesson of a life time.

"Most of these soldiers were really young, just getting out of high school, so it was really emotional," said Robin Berger, a student who helped with "Joe".

The reason: In November what started as a research project on the war turned into "Joe". He's a life sized mannequin plastered with the faces of every Kansas soldier killed in the war. All 53.

"The kids had to agree to take four or five names of soldiers and research to the point where we couldn't find anything else on them," said Hendrix.

Students spent months tracking down every family...

"It was kind of difficult figuring out where the relatives lived," said Berger.

"When we got letters back we would say, 'Hey, we got a letter, let's read it,'" said Hendrix.

But soon, the pictures and stories of these soldiers started to roll in, and their lives became real to the students.

"They were 8th graders that turned into mature young adults during this process," said Hendrix.

Along with Joe, students put together a book detailing the lives of the soldiers, hoping family and strangers will remember the sacrifice.

"It felt great that I'm doing it for them," explains Efrain Lopez, who glued the pictures to Joe.

Families like Karen and Bob Funcheon who lost their son Alex say the memorial is a blessing.

"I would hope they would see there's someone there to honor their soldier," said Karen Funcheon, who's son Alex was killed last year.

"It's not so much for us, it's more for what they've done," said Bob Funcheon, Alex's father.

It's a project teachers hope students share with others...

"In 15 years, when they bring their kids back, they'll say yeah, your mom or dad did that," said Hendrix.

The pictures of the soldiers are numbered in the order they were killed.
The students will officially unveil Joe at their school Saturday at 10 a.m. More than 200 family members from as far away as West Virginia are expected.