This Memorial Day weekend, the group known as Veterans for Peace is honoring the more than 6,000 fallen soldiers from the conflicts in Iraq and Afghanistan.

But besides being a memorial, their tribute also has a strong political message.

Vietnam veteran Paul McMahon said he believes that the memory of those lost at war often stays on the battlefield.

"People have been killed in these wars and they're known to their families and immediate friends and really no one else," said McMahon.

So, in their memory, McMahon puts a nameless headstone down for each of the fallen soldiers in Iraq and Afghanistan. In McMahon's words, the memorial is his way of "trying to make some sense out of a senseless situation."

"If you go back through the wars, it's hard to find anything you can justify as necessary," McMahon said.

Now in its fifth year, the Memorial Mile is a way for Veterans for Peace to take a stand against the war while honoring those who served.

"War should not be an instrument for foreign policy," said John Fournelle, of Veterans for Peace. "Why does this have to keep going on? Why each year does it have to get longer and longer and longer?"

As the list of soldiers who sacrificed their lives grows longer, veterans like McMahon said they hope their memory rests above the grave.

"Every year we're out here putting in more tombstones. We'd like to stop the march of the tombstone," said McMahon.

The memorial runs along Atwood Avenue in Olbrich Park. The tribute will remain up through June 3.