By Bonnie N. Davis

As a combat medic in the Army, Anthony Vella witnessed the agonizing deaths of fellow soldiers killed in Afghanistan. When he returned to the United States and was stationed at Fort Lee in 2013, he sought to escape the memories of a “living hell” but honor his lost comrades.

The 25-year-old sergeant turned his skill as a metal artist into a tangible way to remember the fallen soldiers while helping their families cope with the loss.

Mr. Vella crafts roses of remembrance from steel.

Working after hours in his garage on the Petersburg base, Mr. Vella painstakingly produces the roses, which are mounted on stands and adorned with dog tags from his new, but small operation, Eternal Steel: Honoring the Ultimate Sacrifice.

The roses are presented without charge to Gold Star families — parents, wives, siblings and loved ones who have lost a family member serving in the military.

The roses come with the promise: “As long as this rose lives, so too shall the love and memories of your fallen hero.”

Mr. Vella said his motto is simple: “They gave their life for us. We will live for them.”

To date, about 100 of the eternal roses have been made and sent to Gold Star families from Virginia to Alaska, Texas, Indiana and California. Earlier this week, Mr. Vella was working on plans to present a rose during the Memorial Day holiday to a Hopewell mother whose son died of natural causes after returning home from the military.

People hear about the roses mostly through word of mouth, he said. “Gold Star families seem to have a wide network,” he said.

Families who have suffered a loss also can request a rose on Eternal Steel’s Facebook site, www.Facebook.com/eternalsteel. The site also features posts, photos and videos from military families about their deceased loved ones.

Mr. Vella relies on donations to fund the operation, which is supported by a small team of 10 people, including his wife, Karrah. All are active duty military, retired military or spouses of military personnel at Fort Lee.

“They understand the hardships that often come while wearing the uniform,” he said.

A native of Camarillo, Calif., Mr. Vella has served in the Army since 2009. He did a tour of duty in Afghanistan in 2011. He expects to be discharged sometime this summer.

His wife, who also is on active duty, is being stationed at Fort Bliss in El Paso, Texas. The family will be moving, Mr. Vella said.

Once he leaves the military, he expects to spend all of his time working with Eternal Steel. He is completing paperwork to establish the operation’s nonprofit status.

Already, more than 1,000 people have “liked” Eternal Steel on Facebook in the last month, he said.

For military families, learning about the death of a loved one can be horrific, he said. But commemorations such as eternal roses become “reflections of the beautiful lives they lived.”