A support group is raising money to have a monument to the 890th Engineer Battalion from Gulfport in place before the end of the year.

The 890th is in Iraq. The battalion commander, Lt. Col. Joe Hargett, says the idea for a monument came about when some of the soldiers and leaders began thinking of a way to recognize their service.

This is the second deployment to Iraq for the 890th. Most of the soldiers have had several tours in Iraq and Afghanistan.

The unit is scheduled to return home at the end of March.

Hargett says the design of the monument came from the soldiers themselves and resembles the engineer branch insignia. Each soldier’s name will be carved into the monument.