EDDYVILLE — Herb Lobberecht never set out to create a memorial.

In fact, the whole idea of painting his 1944 Farmall Model H tractor black was a bit of a joke. The manufacturer painted those tractors red, and most collectors keep them that way. Lobberecht was at a show when he halfheartedly suggested he might paint one of his black.

An older man standing behind Lobberecht hated the idea and let him know it. That tirade transformed the idea from a quip to a real intent. Lobberecht was going to paint his tractor black, just because he could.

But Lobberecht is quick to share the credit, or the blame, depending on where you stand.

“I’m not the only one that’s done this,” he said.

He and his good friend, Steve Besco, started rehabilitating the tractor more than a year ago. It took a lot of work. They had to replace the motor, the transmission, and just about anything else that moved.

“It’s basically a new tractor,” Lobberecht said.

When the tractor was ready to paint, the pair decided to make the tractor into something more than just a black tractor and a curiosity. They decided to make it into a memorial to the men and women who served and died in the armed forces.

The decision seems to fit in with the neighborhood Lobberecht calls home. It’s in Eddyville, just a few blocks away from the levee that outlasted the Des Moines River over the past several weeks. It’s a tree-lined street with tidy houses on either side. More than a couple have flags flying.

And it’s not entirely surprising that Lobberecht has the tractor. He works at John Deere, commuting from Eddyville to Ottumwa every day.

The finished tractor combines large scenes like the flag-raising on Iwo Jima with small details. Lobberecht had an artist paint the POW/MIA symbol on one front fender. The other side has a rifle, helmet and boots. Both are small but intricately drawn.

Each side has part of a list of the wars U.S. troops have fought, painted in gold near a larger “Not Forgotten” inscription. But the most meaningful details to Lobberecht are the hardest to see. The name of each Iowa soldier killed in the Iraq War is painted onto the tractor’s hood.

It’s hard to say what paint was used. It shifts from purple to blue with the light. Lobberecht rubs his hand over the names.

“That li’l boy’s at Boone,” he says quietly. The name he points to is Sgt. Daniel Sesker.

The names keep drawing Lobberecht back. This isn’t his only tractor; three others (all red) are lined up in the garage. But it’s clear this one means a lot to him. And while he’s proud of the way the other details look, how the art near the seat and on the gas tank came out, his hands keep going back over the names.