“She told me that her son, Alec Catherwood, was one of the Marines in the Battalion, and his best friend was also killed. It made me cry, and I decided then that I wanted to do something to remember them,” Aubrey said.

The Rochelle Township High School senior sewed red and white ribbons in the shape of the American flag onto a blue dress. The design also included a halter neckline to match the Marines’ uniform color.

Aubrey plans to attend college next year and major in fashion design. She wants to start her own line of clothing and continue designing special occasion dresses like her prom dress tribute.

“I definitely want to pursue a career in fashion,” Aubrey said. “I would love to design more special occasion dresses like this one.”

In addition to the dress, she created a poster to pay further tribute to the fallen Marines and to educate people about their lives.

“Their lives… and their memories need to carry on so that they don’t fade into nothing.”

The 3rd Batallion, 5th Marines, also known as 3/5 or Darkhorse, suffered extreme amounts of causalities. No other Marine unit suffered higher casualties than Darkhorse in the last ten years.