About the film
From the time that he was a small child, Anthony Marquez knew he wanted to join the United States Marine Corps. His uncle had been a Marine in the 1970’s, and Anthony was to follow in his footsteps. He fulfilled that dream, and in 2011, was sent to the sweltering sands of the Sangin Valley, Afghanistan. His unit ultimately lost 17 Marines while deployed.
Anthony returned to the States, and soon back to civilian life. Although home, nothing would ever be the same. The faces of the men that died haunted Anthony. The hurt their families felt tugged at his own heart. Why was he allowed to come home, to live on, but those 17 men had to die?
How could he memorialize the 17? What could he do to let their families know that their son would not be forgotten. That is when Anthony had the idea to carve with his chainsaw a “Battlefield Cross,” for every Gold Star family from his unit affected by loss. He would then, hand deliver each and every one of the carvings to the family. This became Anthony’s new mission as a Marine: to honor the fallen. He delivered the first carving to the family of Robert Greniger on July 12, 2016. That was the 5th anniversary of Greniger’s death. The last of the 17 carvings was delivered on May 23rd, 2019. The goal was complete, but the work isn’t done.
In the fall of 2021, Anthony set out on the road once again. That being the 10th anniversary of the unit’s deployment, he revisited all 17 families that received a carving. Along the way, he also touched base with Marines that made it home, like he did, and recounted their journey together. The trip was documented by his brother, filmmaker Manny Marquez and producer Ben Leiser. They have created a feature length documentary entitled Make Peace or Die. This is taken from the unit motto of the 1st Battalion, 5th Marines, Anthony’s unit. Doing the carvings, and meeting with all the families has helped Anthony on his path to healing as he has helped the Gold Star Families heal. The mission to remember the fallen will never end.