General Editor

Sarah G. Forgey

Layout and Design

Gene Snyder

Art Photography

Pablo Jimenez-Reyes

Center of Military History

United States Army

Washington, D.C., 2015

In the Line of Duty

Army Art, 1965–2014
First Printing—CMH Pub 70–123

Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data

In the line of duty : Army art, 1965–2014 / general editor, Sarah G. Forgey ; art photography, Pablo Jimenez-Reyes.

 pages cm.

 1. United States. Army—Pictorial works. 2. Soldiers—United States—Pictorial works. 3. United States—Armed Forces—Foreign 

countries—Pictorial works. 4. United States—History, Military—Pictorial works. 5. United States. Army—Art collections—Catalogs. 6. 

Soldiers in art—Catalogs. 7. Armies in art—Catalogs. 8. United States—History, Military—Pictorial works. I. Forgey, Sarah G., editor. 

II. Jimenez-Reyes, Pablo, photographer. 

 UA25.I64 2014

 355.009730222—dc23

 2014028850
iii

Table of Contents

Foreword .

Acknowledgments . .

Introduction . 

Vietnam War .

Reinventing the Army: The 1970s and 1980s . 

Desert Shield and Desert Stom 

Artists-in-Residence: The 1990s . .

Global War on Terrorism . .

Appendix: The Artists . .

v

Foreword

Those unfamiliar with the Army Art Program are often surprised that the U.S. Army, an 

organization focused on mastering the art and science of war, killing, and selective destruction, 

has such an initiative at all. In fact, soldier art and soldier art programs in the Army have a long 

tradition dating back to World War I. Artists, even more than photographers, are often able to 

capture the very essence of war, from the harsh realities of combat to the humdrum routine of 

soldiers’ lives. The best combat artists can bring to life the immediacy of soldiers’ experiences 

for even the casual viewer. It is that sense of seizing the moment and preserving a glimpse of 

the reality of military life that makes such artwork valuable to the Army and the nation.

The U.S. Army Center of Military History is proud to present In the Line of Duty: Army Art, 

1965–2014, an updated volume on the Army Art Collection. It is long overdue. The Center 

published two books, Portrait of an Army and Soldiers Serving the Nation, in the 1990s, when 

both the Army and the Army’s art program looked very different. Two electronic publications, 

Army Artists Look at the War on Terrorism, 2001 to the Present, and Art of the American Soldier: 

Documenting Military History Through Artists’ Eyes and in Their Own Words, featured the work of 

more recent Army artists. 

In the Line of Duty contains art ranging from the Vietnam War to Desert Storm and from

Bosnia-Herzegovina to Iraq and Afghanistan. While there have been dramatic changes in 

uniforms, equipment, and weapons over those years, the essential character of U.S. Army 

soldiers remains remarkably the same, and it is that character that these artists capture. 

Soldier-artists are dedicated to documenting the history of the Army in a unique and 

impressionistic way. Their focus, as the reader will find, is on the heart of the Army, the 

men and women who serve their country around the world, rather than on technology 

or equipment. The individual soldier endures as the strength of the Army and that shines 
vi

through in most of these works. I encourage the reader to peruse these pages to discover 

more about the collective experience of the American soldier. Successful art can withstand 

the test of time, and it remains relevant by depicting memories and customs shared by 

many generations of those who served their country. I believe that the art in this book will 

continue to appeal to soldiers and veterans for decades to come.

Washington, D.C. RICHARD W. STEWART, PH.D. 

1 December 2014 Chief of Military History
vii

Acknowledgments

This book draws its origins from the 2011 debut of the electronic publication Art of the 

American Soldier: Documenting Military History Through Artists’ Eyes and in Their Own Words, by 

Renée Klish. Klish, a former Army art curator, produced a book of selected art that included 

the artists’ words and other documentation to “open a window into the creative process.” 

During her tenure, she contacted many former artists or their families to add information to 

the Army Art Collection files. 

In 2012, Beth MacKenzie, chief of the Center’s Historical Products Branch, introduced a 

proposal to modify and expand Art of the American Soldier to highlight works produced from 

Vietnam to the present conflicts in Iraq and Afghanistan. Her team, consisting of Diane 

Sedore Arms, Cheryl L. Bratten, and Gene Snyder, began to compile images and quotes to be 

published in a printed edition. This new art book would supplement the two books published 

in the 1990s by Gordon R. Sullivan and Marylou Gjernes—Portrait of an Army and Soldiers 

Serving the Nation. 

In May 2012, as the current Army art curator, I chose additional images to represent the artists 

of each period and wrote the text to supplement each section. My 2012 summer interns, Kelly 

Russo, Madeline Hodges, Victoria Kolton, and Jackie Streker, assisted me by researching the 

artists’ biographical information and gathering more quotes. With the support of the collection 

photographer, Pablo Jimenez-Reyes, and curatorial assistant Summer Brown, all of the artwork 

selected for the book was digitally photographed at a high resolution. 

I would also like to thank M. Sgt. Martin J. Cervantez and Sfc. Amy Brown for many 

conversations about art in general, the Army’s collection, their own work (which appears in 

the last section of this book), and what it means to be an artist in the Army. Similarly, in the 
viii

course of my research I have spoken to many former Army artists, all of whom have enriched 

my perspective on their work by generously sharing their recollections. I wish to thank all of 

them for their service and for sharing their talents with generations to come. 

Finally, In the Line of Duty: Army Art, 1965–2014, is a product of successful collaboration between 

the Center’s Histories and Museum Divisions and the talents of the many dedicated and 

capable individuals mentioned above.
ix

War is one of the oldest subjects in the history of art, yet almost every time the words Army 

Art Program are spoken, the speaker is met with astonishment and interest. Most people are 

not surprised that the Army has a historical art collection, but their assumption is usually that 

most of the art is large-scale battle scenes painted by great masters. Many are aware of the 

military art programs that existed during the world wars, and some Vietnam veterans recall 

meeting artists or viewing their works, but the vast majority is unaware that the Army still has 

an active artist program. Furthermore, virtually everyone—from soldiers to scholars to the 

average citizen—is amazed to hear that today’s Army artists are themselves soldiers.

To understand the Army’s modern-day artist program, a brief historical context is necessary. 

The Army’s relationship with the arts began in the early days of the Army, when an artist’s 

talents were the only tools available to visually record battles, troop positions, fortifications, 

engineering projects, and other activities. Among the earliest eyewitness works in the Army 

Art Collection are twelve small panel paintings showing Mexican War scenes by James Walker, 

who observed the events and volunteered his artistic services to the Army. 

While the Army unofficially used the skills of artistic soldiers and volunteer civilians throughout 

the nineteenth century, most Army-related art was produced by civilian artists working on 

private commissions, such as Winslow Homer’s famous scenes of the Civil War that appeared 

in Harper’s Weekly. Beginning in the Civil War, the emerging medium of photography excited the 

American people, and a pioneering era of war documentation began. As in the civilian art world, 

however, the traditional arts of painting and drawing were not abandoned entirely. 

The Army Art Program officially began in World War I, when the War Department selected 

eight prominent illustrators to chronicle the activities of the American Expeditionary Forces. 

Introduction

South Sde of

Mexico

James Walker, 1848

Oil on board, 11” x 16
x

These artists—civilians before the war—were commissioned as captains in the Army and 

given the broad mission to record any Army-related enterprise that they observed firsthand 

in the medium and style of their choice. While their compositions were subject to the 

same wartime censorship restrictions as photography and writing, the artists experienced 

a high degree of creative freedom. The artists produced several hundred works of art 

before the program concluded at the end of the war. The art was placed in the custody of 

the Smithsonian Institution, which was at that time the repository of the Army’s historical 

property. There was no Army art program during the years between the world wars.

As the United States began preparations to enter World War II, both the civilian art world 

and the military recognized the need for artistic documentation of the war. Frances Brennan, 

newly appointed as the director of the Office of War Information, underlined this urgency in a

statement that “the American People need their artists now—to charge them with the grave 

responsibility of spelling out their anger, their grief, their greatness, and their justice.”1

 Civilian 

magazines such as Life began hiring artists as war correspondents, while the War Department 

formed the War Art Advisory Committee, consisting of prominent civilian art experts, to 

select the artists. By spring of 1943, the committee had identified forty-two of the most 

talented American artists—both soldier and civilian—to participate. As in World War I, the 

artists were given a wide degree of creative freedom. Committee chairman and War Art Unit 

member George Biddle enthusiastically wrote to the artists that 

any subject is in order, if as artists you feel that it is part of War; battle scenes and the 

front line; battle landscapes; the dying and the dead; prisoners of war; field hospitals and 

base hospitals; wrecked habitations and bombing scenes; character sketches of our own 

troops, of prisoners, of the natives of the countries you visit; never official portraits; the 

tactical implements of war; embarkation and debarkation scenes; the nobility, courage, 

cowardice, cruelty, boredom of war; all this should form part of a well-rounded picture. 

Try to omit nothing; duplicate to your heart’s content. Express, if you can, realistically 

or symbolically, the essence and spirit of war. You may be guided by Blake’s mysticism, by 

Goya’s cynicism and savagery, by Delacroix’s romanticism, by Daumier’s humanity and 

tenderness; or better still follow your own inevitable star.2

By May 1943, the first artists of the War Art Unit arrived in their assigned theaters all over the 

world to begin work. 

Just two months into the program, however, Congress cut funding for the War Art Unit. 

Faced with no other option, the Army reassigned the soldier-artists and released the civilians. 

1 New York Times, “Artists’ War Work Centralized in OWI,” 9 Aug 1942, p. 42. 

 Memo, George Biddle for War Artists to Be Sent Overseas, 1 Mar 1943, Army Art Collection files, CMH

Storming 

France

George Harding, 1918

Charcoal on paper, 181⁄4” x 271⁄4”

Hill 609—TUN

Tunisia

George Biddle, 1943

Oil on canvas, 40” x 50
xi

Recognizing an opportunity, Life approached the War Department with an offer to employ the 

civilian artists. Artistic coverage of the war continued through Life’s art program, art programs 

sponsored by other private corporations such as Abbott Laboratories, sketches and cartoons 

produced by Yank magazine artists, and the perseverance of the soldier-artists, who carried 

on with their official duties and were eventually authorized to create art in their spare time 

as well. By the end of the war, the Army had acquired over two thousand works of art, which 

became the foundation of the Army Art Collection. Life donated its World War II art to the 

Department of Defense in 1960. This important gift reunited the soldier and civilian art into 

one collection that displayed various artists’ perspectives on the war, as the War Art Advisory 

Committee had envisioned in 1943.

With the end of World War II, the Army’s art program came to an end. During the Korean War, 

the Army briefly considered the possibility of deploying artists, but the initiative never gained 

momentum. Several civilian magazines continued the World War II tradition by sending artistcorrespondents to Korea. Robert “Weldy” Baer, an Army civilian temporarily assigned to the Eighth 

Army Historical Section, sketched and painted his observations of military operations in Korea. 

With the lack of artistic documentation of the Korean War in mind, the Army visualized 

an extensive undertaking during the Vietnam War that used the talents of both soldier and 

civilian artists. Administered by the Office of the Chief of Military History and the Army Arts

and Crafts Program, this venture sought to achieve the same mission as the art programs 

during the world wars, allowing the participants a great degree of artistic freedom. The 

decision to involve civilian as well as soldier artists was meant to ensure that the art reflected 

the perspectives of both young soldiers and mature artists and that the quality of art coverage 

of the Vietnam War was consistent with that of World War II.

The Army Arts and Crafts Program recruited the soldier-artists and organized them into 

Combat Artist Teams. Team members were issued cameras, though many of the artists 

preferred to sketch on the spot. The supervisor of one of the artist teams reported that 

“none of the men seem too interested in relying totally on film for their sketches. All of 

them seem more determined to record on paper on the spot when time and circumstances 

permit.”3

 By 1970, when the program expanded to include other countries, nine Combat 

Artist Teams had been sent to Vietnam. Each team spent sixty days there, during which time 

it traveled extensively to ensure maximum coverage. Artists participated in patrols and 

photographed, sketched, and kept notes on their experiences. At the end of their time, each 

team traveled to Hawaii, where the artists spent the next sixty days in a studio creating 

finished artwork.

3

 Ltr, Fitzyallen Yow, Technical Supervisor of Combat Artist Team VII, to Mrs. Nowlin, 2 Sep 1968, Army Art

Collection files, CMH.

Patro i

Vietnam

Roger Blum, 1966

Oil on canvas, 24” x 36
xii

Members of the Combat Artist Teams came from a variety of backgrounds, though all shared 

an interest in art. Artists included enlisted men, officers, those who voluntarily served, draftees, 

conscientious objectors, art students, experienced illustrators, architects, cartoonists, and 

urban planners. The military personnel who applied to be combat artists came from a myriad 

of Army jobs, such as postal clerks, illustrators, platoon leaders, mechanics, medical clerks, 

dental technicians, and aviation mechanics. Some extended their foreign duty tours in order to 

participate. At the end of their service, most Army artists who traveled to Vietnam continued 

in art-related careers, and many stayed in touch with the other members of their team. 

Civilian artists—all volunteers—journeyed to Vietnam for thirty days, during which time 

they were given the status of official visitors. Following their stints and drawing on their 

experiences, the artists returned to their own studios to create eyewitness artwork, which 

would be presented to the Army. The artists agreed not to use the material from their visit for 

any other purpose for one year. 

In comparison to the World War II art program, the Army’s Vietnam art program failed 

to attract the prominent artists of the period. The World War II program was specifically 

envisioned to attract the best artistic talent of the generation, and, true to that vision, many 

prominent artists contributed to the war, either through the Army Art Program, as creators 

of war posters, or as correspondents for magazines such as Life. Art was essential in the 

marketing of World War II, with top illustrators, experienced in advertising and illustration 

art, crafting the image of the war that the American public saw through posters. In contrast, 

no prominent artists designed posters during the Vietnam War; more commonly, posters 

were purely graphic text, illustrated with photographs, or were reprints of popular posters 

from earlier periods, including James Montgomery Flagg’s iconic I Want You for the U.S. Army. 

Influenced by the counterculture of the 1960s and inclined against traditional authority, 

many artists were drawn toward the antiwar movement rather than government-sponsored 

art programs. The war was simply unpopular, and prominent artists were not interested in 

participating, either due to political objections to the war or due to the risks inherent in 

traveling to a volatile region.

Regardless of the lack of involvement by America’s top artists, the Army’s Vietnam War art 

quickly gained critical praise. After viewing the art submitted by the first Combat Artist Team, 

Lester Cooke, curator of paintings at the National Gallery of Art, stated that the Army had

“hit the jackpot.”4

 An exhibit of artists’ compositions toured military installations, and a 

television program entitled The Big Picture chronicled Combat Artist Team IX’s experience. The 

success of the Combat Artist Program inspired many individual unit artist programs, the most 

4

 Quote from Memo, Dr. Lester Cooke, 10 Apr 1967, Army Art Collection files, CMH.
xiii

extensive of which was the 25th Infantry Division’s venture. Unfortunately, little of the unit 

artists’ work was turned over to the Army Art Collection, so it has gone largely unpreserved. 

By early 1969, the Army had begun to review the Combat Artist Program in Vietnam with the 

intention of expanding artistic coverage to other geographic areas. This initiative, renamed the 

Army Artist Program, was envisioned to ensure full historical attention to ongoing operations, 

to improve troop morale, and to increase public awareness of the Army’s worldwide role. 

Following the same model as the Vietnam program, it included a combination of soldier art 

teams and volunteer civilian artists. As in the art programs of the world wars and Vietnam, 

artists were given the broad mission to “record all aspects of military operations. No effort

will be made to furnish explicit instructions as to subject matter. Artists are to be permitted 

freedom of expression.”5

 Soldier-artist teams were assigned to various locations for forty-five 

days to observe and gather material, followed by sixty days in the studio. Volunteer civilian 

artists were issued invitational travel orders and spent thirty days in a specific country before 

returning to their studios to create art, which they donated to the Army. The expanded 

program was successful in recruiting a wider array of civilian volunteers, many of whom were 

interested in the program in Vietnam but were reluctant to travel to that region.

From 1970 to 1988, thirteen artist teams recorded Army activities all over the world. 

Selection of artists was similar to the Combat Artist Program in Vietnam. All applicants 

volunteered for the duty and submitted applications containing examples of their work. 

Competition was often fierce, with the selection committee routinely rejecting dozens of 

applications or holding them for future consideration. Artist teams journeyed to European 

countries, Japan, Korea, Panama, Thailand, and various locations within the United States. They 

recorded combat actions and patrols, training exercises, Corps of Engineers undertakings, 

refugee camps, and other Army subjects. Artist teams experienced triumphs, such as press 

coverage and acclaimed exhibits, as well as difficulties including extreme weather conditions, 

transportation breakdowns, and even theft of their supplies. While travel conditions ranged 

from good to bad, artist teams endeavored to keep a positive attitude and to create art 

matching the quality produced by past Army artists. 

Two teams of artists deployed to cover the conflict in the Persian Gulf. The first team went 

to Saudi Arabia for forty days from November to December 1990 in support of Operatio

Desert Shield. The artists, Sfc. Peter G. Varisano and Sfc. Sieger Hartgers, had both bee

members of previous Army Artist Teams and volunteered to participate again. Their work 

during this period depicts not only the preparations for war, but the lighter side of the Army, 

including many personal images of soldiers relaxing or reflecting.

5

 Memo, Lt Col C. F. Moore, Chief, Plans and Programs, for Deputy Chief of Military History, 5 Jan 1972, Army 

Art Collection files, CMH.

Rememer—t

Panama

Al Sprague, 1990

Oil on board, 18” x 24

Play

Operation Desert Shi

Sieger Hartgers, 1991

Watercolor and ink on paper, 30” x 40”
xiv

The second Army Artist Team, consisting of reservists Capt. Mario H. Acevedo and Lt. Col. 

Frank M. Thomas, deployed in support of Operation Desert Storm. While the artists arrive

after the informal cease-fire agreement and did not see combat firsthand, they spent six 

weeks in Kuwait and Saudi Arabia sketching, taking notes, and talking to soldiers about their 

experiences. The battle scenes that the two artists produced were based on extensive 

research and observation of scenery, soldiers, and the aftermath of combat in the area. Both 

voluntarily extended their tours on active duty to complete their art.

In the summer of 1991, the U.S. Army Center of Military History sent a number of artists, 

most of them former participants in Army Artist Teams, all over the United States to record 

homecoming parades and reunification of soldiers with their families. These works became 

part of the Army Art Collection and remain an important part of the visual story of the war in 

the Persian Gulf. 

In April 1991, an exhibit of Varisano’s and Hartgers’ Desert Shield art opened at The O

Guard Museum, Fort Myer, Virginia. During the show, Chief of Staff of the Army General 

Gordon R. Sullivan suggested the addition of a permanent artist-in-residence position to the 

staff of the U.S. Army Center of Military History. The Center moved quickly to turn this vision 

into a reality later that same year. The exhibition, as well as a later one featuring Acevedo’s and 

Thomas’ Desert Storm art, received high praise and solidified the continuing need for an active

Army Art Program. 

In July 1991, Varisano became the first Army Artist-in-Residence. Serving as the administrator 

of the Army Artist Program as well as the senior artist, he was responsible for selection of 

artist teams, arranging their deployments, assisting the curatorial staff, guiding the work of 

junior artists, recording Department of the Army–level activities, and traveling throughout 

the world to document ongoing Army actions. The creation of the Artist-in-Residence slot 

was not initially intended to replace the previous system of Army Artist Teams, and the two 

programs coexisted for several years. By 2000, however, the Army Artist Program had evolved 

into the single Artist-in-Residence position.

Under the Artist-in-Residence’s direction in the 1990s, Army Artist Teams deployed all over 

the world to record the Army’s activities. Like their predecessors, they were given broad 

parameters in which to work: to observe, to select their own subjects from within that 

experience, and to create documentary art in the medium and style of their choice. They 

created art based on Army actions in Bosnia-Herzegovina, Guantanamo Bay, Haiti, Korea, 

Kosovo, Panama, Rwanda, and Somalia. Artists were also assigned to cover Army training 

including at the Air Assault School at Fort Campbell, Kentucky; the Combat Maneuver Training 

Center at Hohenfels, Germany; and the Joint Readiness Training Center at Fort Polk, Louisiana, 

as well as the Army’s role in relief efforts following disasters such as Hurricane Andrew. 

Probing For Land M

Bosnia-Herzegovina, Operation Joint Endea

Carl E. “Gene” Snyder, 1996

Oil on canvas, 16” x 20
xv

On 11 September 2001, Artist-in-Residence M. Sgt. Henrietta M. Snowden undertook the

monumental task of chronicling the Pentagon just after the terrorist attack. Traveling to 

various vantage points to peruse the destruction and rescue efforts and reviewing numerous 

photographs for reference, Snowden ultimately produced a haunting pastel image of the 

damaged Pentagon at night, with rescue lights visible in the foreground and the dome of the 

Capitol rising out of a hazy background. 

Since the terrorist attacks against the United States in 2001, six Artists-in-Residence have 

documented Army and joint activities in Afghanistan and Iraq. While this program ensures that the 

Army will always have one official artist, the inherent weakness of it is that the responsibility for 

recording the Army’s contemporary history in art falls to just a single soldier. With only one official 

Army artist at a given time, the Army Art Collection lacks the same level of coverage of the Global 

War on Terrorism and Overseas ContingencyOperations that it has had for the major twentiethcentury wars and conflicts. This deficiency is partially rectified by donations from talented soldierartists who are not part of the official program. M. Sgt. Timothy B. Lawn, a member of the U.S. Army

Reserve who deployed to Iraq from 2004 to 2005 as a staff sergeant, spent time during his tour 

creating drawings and watercolor paintings for donation to the Army Art Collection. Capt. Heather 

C. Englehart, a member of the Louisiana Army National Guard, deployed to Iraq and Kuwait from

2003 to 2004 as a first lieutenant. Her command allowed her time to paint and draw scenes of her 

experiences, which she also gave to the Army Art Collection. Englehart and Lawn mark the first 

time since the unit artist programs of the Vietnam period that soldier-artists outside of the official 

art program have made a notable contribution to the documentation of Army events through art. 

The great value of the Army Art Collection is that it is a visual account of routine Army life that links 

generations of soldiers. Though the faces, the technology, and the enemy change from war to war, 

some aspects of a soldier’s career are timeless. While a World War II or Vietnam veteran may not 

recognize the technology used in Iraq or Afghanistan, all soldiers bond over the typical experiences 

they have shared: engaging in basic training, waiting around for transportation, performing guard 

duty, or finding ways to relax in the midst of chaos. These themes recur throughout the Army Art 

Collection, and many of the pieces in this book were chosen with that commonality in mind.

The story of the Army Art Program is about artists and their works. This book presents their art 

beginning with that produced during the Vietnam War up to 2014. It is divided into five chronological 

sections, with a brief introduction at the start of each. The text is minimal because good art tells the 

tale far better than words, but, whenever possible, the artist’s inspiration for an individual composition 

will be included. The question is often asked why the Army maintains its artist program rather than 

relying on photography for documentation, and it is the Center’s sincerest hope that the value of 

an artist’s interpretation will be illustrated by the art on these pages and thus the query answered. 

The best way to describe art’s worth is to echo a sentiment voiced repeatedly by Army artists since 

World War I: a camera records events; the artist imbues them with soul. 

Sept

Pentagon, Arlington, Virginia

Henrietta M. Snowden, 2001

Pastel on paper, 30” x 221⁄2”

1

Vietnam War

Army art from the Vietnam War is unlike Army art from any other period. In striking 

contrast to the more conventional artistic approaches of the world wars, the 

Vietnam period is characterized by a wide stylistic diversity with many artists working 

in bright, vibrant colors and an expressive manner. Some artists preferred quick sketches or 

watercolors, with figures and landscape elements defined by only a few swift brushstrokes, 

such as Sp4c. Roger Blum’s Infantry Soldier (page 8). Figures are often thin or ghost-like and 

are sometimes dwarfed by the landscape or war machines surrounding them. It is common 

to see soldiers portrayed alone or in very small groups, as in Sp5c. Burdell Moody’s Point 

Man (page 36) and in civilian artist Horatio A. Hawks’ Long Range Patrol (page 57). Stylistic 

variety ranges from impressionistic, such as 1st Lt. John O. Wehrle’s Landing Zone (page 22), 

to hyperrealistic, such as Sp4c. Michael R. Crook’s Jonah ‘67 (page 29). While many artists 

worked in the traditional mediums of oil paints and watercolors, others embraced the stillnew medium of acrylic paints, which had become commercially available in the 1950s. For the 

first time in the history of the Army Art Program, some artists submitted collages, threedimensional works, and multimedia artwork. 

The subject matter varies widely as well. While the artists were given the same general 

instructions as Army artists during World Wars I and II, there are drastically fewer pieces in 

this period that show the light side of soldier life. Many World War II artists painted scenes 

of soldiers relaxing or engaging in leisure activities. In contrast, soldiers featured in Vietnam 

artwork look tense, even when they are at rest. The soldiers represented in action scenes 

are frequently anonymous, their faces turned away from the viewer or otherwise obscured, 

as if to suggest that they can be replaced by anyone. Soldiers experiencing deep emotions 

are similarly anonymous, like the subject portrayed in Sp4c. Victory Von Reynolds’ A Soldier 

(page 60). Conversely, many other portraits depict recognizable soldiers. The subjects of 
2

these compositions may look exhausted, bored, disinterested, and aged beyond their years, 

but all share a certain stoicism and strength.

Much of the Vietnam artwork is beautiful. Despite the “detached from reality” feeling that 

many Vietnam artists recall, most of the artists were able to isolate moments of beauty 

within the chaos of war, as in Sp5c. Burdell Moody’s Firefly Mission (page 37). In other works, 

such as Sp5c. David M. Lavender’s Cheeta Gets a Bath (page 13), the beauty of the vibrant 

sunset is contrasted with the harsh lines of the equipment. This disparity between beauty 

and violence highlights the many contradictions of the Vietnam War. In explaining such an 

incongruity in one of his pieces of art, Robert Knight stated that it “represents for me the 

contrasts that I saw while in Vietnam. I saw a beautiful country, culture and people caught 

up and entangled in a complicated war. I saw in the people, a great strength and resilience.”1

Contradictions are expressed in much of the Vietnam artwork, as the artists grappled with 

the violence, low morale of American troops, and growing uncertainty of support for the 

troops from the American people.

The Army art of this conflict is heavily influenced by the era in which it was painted. 

Experimentation in new artistic mediums and the loosening of styles echo trends in the 

civilian art world, the source of the training for many of the young artists. Many of the artists 

were draftees, and none could escape the influence of negative public opinion on the war. 

Despite this, there are very few blatant protest pieces within the body of Vietnam Army art. 

The artists are honest in their portrayal of events, conditions, and their fellow soldiers and 

do not shy away from criticism of the destruction and loss of life that they experienced, but, 

without exception, their art shows respect for and commiseration with their comrades in 

uniform.

1

 E-mail, Robert Knight to general editor, 2 Aug 2010, Army Art Collection files, CMH.
3

THE RICE PADDIES

Vietnam

Augustine G. Acuña, 1966

Watercolor on board, 18” x 273⁄4”

“I didn’t tell my other 

team members that 

I had never had any 

formal art instruction 

(especially since I was 

the Team Leader and 

considered the ‘Old 

Man’). I just looked over 

their shoulders a lot and 

learned how to work with 

all types of mediums.”

—Augustine G. Acuña
4

BEAT

Vietnam

Augustine G. Acuña, 1966

Pencil on illustration board, 25” x 163⁄4”

MORNING RITUAL

Vietnam

Augustine G. Acuña, 1966

Oil on canvas, 38” x 24”
5

PATROL IN THE JUNGLE

Vietnam

Roger Blum, 1966

Oil on canvas, 24” x 36”

“This day required 

traversing numerous 

terrains in order to 

reach our mountain 

top destination. Before 

heading out, we were 

advised to: ‘Be very 

observant to our 

surroundings, don’t pick 

up anything on or off the 

trails, and be extremely 

quiet in conversation 

and movement.’ These 

instructions were the 

emotional catalyst that 

inspired my painting.”

—Roger Blum
6

HELICOPTER ASSAULT

Vietnam

Roger Blum, 1966

Watercolor on paper, 24” x 18”
7

CONVOY

Vietnam

Roger Blum, 1966

Watercolor on paper, 221⁄2” x 29”
8

INFANTRY SOLDIER

Vietnam

Roger Blum, 1966

Watercolor on paper, 11” x 19”
9

SWAMP FIGHTERS

Vietnam

Theodore E. Drendel, 1966

Watercolor on paper, 18” x 24”
10

SEARCHING A VILLAGE

Vietnam

Robert Knight, 1966

Crayon on paper, 9” x 113⁄4” 

“I saw a beautiful country, 

culture and people caught 

up and entangled in a 

complicated war. I saw 

in the people a great 

strength and resilience. . . .

The overall Vietnam 

experience introduced 

me to the harsh reality 

of war first hand. I saw 

the every day images of 

war through the poverty, 

pain, fear, and frustration 

and loss of lives that it 

creates. I also saw the 

difficult and dangerous 

situations that our soldiers 

found themselves in.”

—Robert Knight
11

SCENE NEAR CHU CHI

Chu Chi, Vietnam

Robert Knight, 1966

Ink and oil on paper, 11” x 14”
12

STREET SCENE

Nha Trang, Vietnam

David M. Lavender, 1966

Acrylic on board, 211⁄2” x 253⁄4”
13

CHEETA GETS A BATH

Cu Chi, Vietnam

David M. Lavender, 1966

Acrylic and pencil on board, 26” x 34”
14

ALWAYS THE RICE PADDIES

Tay Ninh, Vietnam

David M. Lavender, 1966

Acrylic on illustration board, 23” x 281⁄2”
15

CHURCH SERVICES IN THE JUNGLE

An Khe, Vietnam

Ronald E. Pepin, 1966

Watercolor on paper, 113⁄4” x 9”

SCOUT DOG

Vietnam

Ronald E. Pepin, 1966

Watercolor on paper, 113⁄4” x 9”
16

HELICOPTER MACHINE GUNNER

Vietnam

Ronald E. Pepin, 1966

Oil on paper, 173⁄4” x 12”
17

SECOND PLATOON ASSAULT

Vietnam

Gary W. Porter, 1966

Oil on canvas, 18” x 24”

“It’s all happening very 

fast. I would just stick 

up my head and take a 

few shots very quickly 

and get back to business 

staying alive and keep 

moving with guys.”

—Gary W. Porter
18

COMBAT ARTIST AT WORK

Duc An, Vietnam

Paul Rickert, 1966

Pencil on paper, 9” x 12”

“I think I grew up a 

little out there; as an 

artist—and as a man.”

—Paul Rickert
19

BOG-DOWN

Cu Chi, Vietnam

Felix R. Sanchez, 1966

Acrylic on paper, 29” x 23”
20

DUSTOFF AT TAN SON NHUT

Tan Son Nhut, Vietnam

John O. Wehrle, 1966

Crayon, ink, watercolor, and wash on paper, 173⁄4” x 24”
21

PURPLE HEART

Saigon, Vietnam

John O. Wehrle, 1966

Oil on canvas, 36” x 46”
22

LANDING ZONE

Vietnam

John O. Wehrle, 1966

Oil on canvas, 32” x 46”
23

RELIGIOUS SERVICES AT CU CHI

Cu Chi, Vietnam

John O. Wehrle, 1966

Pencil on paper, 19” x 241⁄2”
24

RECONNAISSANCE PATROL

Central Highlands, Vietnam

Theodore J. Abraham, 1967

Pastel on paper, 19” x 25”
25

QUICK TRIP (EVACUATING A MINE CASUALTY)

Vietnam

Theodore J. Abraham, 1967

Ink on paper, 11” x 131⁄2”
26

SOLDIERS RESTING (TEN MINUTE BREAK)

Thach Tru, Vietnam

Samuel E. Alexander, 1968

Watercolor on paper, 291⁄2” x 22”
27

DUST OFF

Dong Tam, Vietnam

Samuel E. Alexander, 1967

Watercolor on paper, 22” x 291⁄2”
28

DOOR GUNNER

Vietnam

Michael R. Crook, 1967

Ink on paper, 173⁄4” x 13”
29

JONAH ‘67

Tan Hiep, Vietnam

Michael R. Crook, 1967

Acrylic on canvas, 233⁄4” x 34”
30

AMBUSH PATROL

Vietnam

Peter F. Copeland, 1967

Watercolor on paper, 11” x 14”
31

BREAKDOWN

Vietnam

Phillip W. Jones, 1967

Acrylic on paper, 22” x 30”

“We were supposed to 

show the Army in action 

in our paintings—at 

least that’s what I 

understood. . . . I enjoyed 

being on the team, 

however, because I was 

allowed to do my own 

thing. Being a Combat 

Artist and being a civilian 

artist is like apples and 

oranges.”

—Phillip W. Jones
32

RIVER PATROL

Long Binh, Vietnam

Daniel T. Lopez, 1967

Tempera on paper, 15” x 20”
33

HUNTED HUT

Vietnam

Daniel T. Lopez, 1967

Watercolor on board, 19” x 243⁄4”
34

JOLLY GREEN GIANT

Pleiku, Vietnam

Dennis O. McGee, 1967

Acrylic on board, 28” x 40”
35

LEAVING FOR PATROL

Rung Sat, Vietnam

Robert T. Myers, 1967

Watercolor on paper, 113⁄4” x 173⁄4”
36

POINT MAN

Phuoc Vinh, Vietnam

Burdell Moody, 1967

Oil on canvas, 20” x 28”

“I remember the 

hard lives and unsung 

sacrifices made by those 

young men of 19 and 20 

years of age.”

—Burdell Moody
37

FIREFLY MISSION

Rung Sat, Vietnam

Burdell Moody, 1967

Oil on canvas, 24” x 34”
38

UNROLLING WIRE

Long Binh, Vietnam

James Pollock, 1967

Watercolor on paper, 12” x 141⁄4”

“It was early in my 

experience as a soldier 

artist that I came to 

understand the hardship 

ordinary soldiers in 

Vietnam experienced on 

a day-to-day basis.“

—James Pollock
39

CARD GAME

Vietnam

James Pollock, 1967

Watercolor on paper, 13” x 16”
40

RUINS OF COMBAT

Vietnam

Robert B. Rigg, 1967

Oil on canvas, 24” x 36”
41

THE WAITING GAME

Dragon Mountain Heliport, Pleiku, Vietnam

Kenneth J. Scowcroft, 1967

Acrylic on canvas, 24” x 30”
42

APPREHENDED

Vietnam

Ronald A. Wilson, 1967

Acrylic on masonite, 20” x 40”

“One thing I could not 

portray with paint was 

the feeling of the unreality 

of it all. The Vietnam 

War I experienced was 

so different and far 

removed from all the 

other experiences in my 

life that it felt like being 

on Mars.”

—Ronald A. Wilson
43

SMOKE BREAK

Vietnam

Robert T. Coleman, 1968

Acrylic on canvas, 30” x 201⁄4”

FIRING RUN

Vietnam

Ronald A. Wilson, 1967

Acrylic on masonite, 36” x 24”
44

CHINOOK GUNNER

Vietnam

Brian H. Clark, 1968

Acrylic on canvas, 40” x 40”

“Troops on the move try 

to capture the constant 

uncertainty of life at 

its rawest, never sure 

of what chaos and the 

necessary response 

might be next. And 

always, the omnipresent 

chopper.”

—Brian H. Clark
45

FIREFIGHT AT DAKTO

Dak To, Vietnam

David N. Fairrington, 1968

Acrylic on board, 203⁄4” x 111⁄4”

SOLDIER SKETCH

Vietnam

David N. Fairrington, 1968

Acrylic on board, 181⁄4” x 111⁄2”

“I would only paint still 

lives and landscapes 

when I got back and 

then I stopped painting 

altogether for years. 

I didn’t really start 

painting (again) until 

1995. That’s when I 

realized, people are all 

that matter. It took me a 

long time to know that in 

my heart.”

—David N. Fairrington
46

VETERAN

Long Binh Province, Vietnam

William E. Flaherty Jr., 1968

Pencil on paper, 6” x 53⁄4”
47

THE PROTECTORS

Vietnam

William C. Harrington, 1968

Acrylic on canvas, 21” x 19”
48

CHOPPERS

Vietnam

John D. Kurtz, 1968

Pencil on paper, 9” x 111⁄2”

“The ubiquitous 

helicopters would have 

been an obvious subject. 

They darkened the skies 

there. To this day, I recoil 

from the sight and sound 

of a helicopter.”

—John D. Kurtz
49

LUNCH BREAK

Vietnam

Stephen J. Matthias, 1968

Watercolor on board, 22” x 30”
50

MED EVAC

Vietnam

Michael P. Pala, 1968

Pencil on paper, 173⁄4” x 113⁄4”
51

SIGHT PICTURE

Vietnam

Stephen H. Randall, 1968

Felt-tip marker and ink on paper, 9” x 111⁄2”

“Although I didn’t think 

about it then, I now think 

that the circumstances 

of the units I served with 

did affect my art in the 

choice of subjects, media, 

and techniques. I think 

I approached support 

units and services with 

as much emphasis 

on equipment as on 

people.”

—Stephen H. Randall
52

WOUNDED MEN

Qui Nhon, Vietnam

John Potter Wheat, 1968

Acrylic on masonite, 131⁄2” x 251⁄2”
53

TANK GRAVEYARD

Vietnam

James R. Drake, 1969

Watercolor on paper, 20” x 281⁄2”
54

PATROL

Vietnam

James R. Drake, 1969

Watercolor on paper, 20” x 281⁄2”
55

MORNING RITUAL

Vietnam

James R. Drake, 1969

Watercolor on paper, 20” x 281⁄2”
56

PORTRAIT

Vietnam

James S. Hardy, 1969

Acrylic on board, 18” x 24”

“The portraits and 

character studies I 

feel are my strongest 

works. Never in my 

life have I been in the 

companionship of finer 

people than when I was 

with those infantry units.”

—James S. Hardy
57

LONG RANGE PATROL

Vietnam

Horatio A. Hawks, 1969

Watercolor on paper, 22” x 30”
58

JUNGLE DRIVER

Thailand, Vietnam War

Carlton Plummer, 1969

Watercolor on paper, 14” x 21”

“I don’t think it (being a 

Combat Artist) affected 

my style or what I 

paint. It did, however, 

strengthen my drawing 

ability because of my 

constant sketching 

on location. I guess I 

thought more about 

adding figures to my 

compositions.”

—Carlton Plummer
59

FIREBASE HARDTIMES

Vietnam

Craig L. Stewart, 1969

Acrylic on board, 131⁄2” x 19”
60

COMBAT ENGINEER

Bao Loc, Vietnam

Victory Von Reynolds, 1969

Watercolor on board, 20” x 25”

A SOLDIER

Vietnam

Victory Von Reynolds, 1969

Watercolor on paper, 281⁄2” x 21”
61

Reinventing the Army

The 1970s and 1980s

The Army Art Program of the 1970s and 1980s grew out of the tradition of the Vietnam art 

program, and the art has its roots in that of the Vietnam War as well. With the suspension of 

the draft and the transition to an all-volunteer Army, the Army’s emphasis shifted to attracting 

the individual while reshaping the Army’s image. In 1980, the Army adopted the recruiting 

slogan “Be All You Can Be,” which challenged the soldier to reach his or her full potential. 

The art of this period reflects this adjustment in the Army’s philosophy and signifies a change 

in the soldier. The focus is often on action and movement, represented by numerous images 

of soldiers traveling from one place to another. In a period without combat, the artists were 

faced with how to depict the soldier and visually answer the question “What makes a soldier 

a soldier?” In response to that, they often turned to the heroism of the everyday in their 

subject matter. S. Sgt. Roger W. Price’s drawing Combat Ready (page 94) asks the soldier 

directly whether he or she has met the challenge to be all he or she can be. Art such as 

this piece idealizes the courage of the great stoic soldier and stresses the soldier’s identity 

as a fighter. The modern soldier takes his or her place in a long line of classic warriors 

throughout the Army’s history and is identified as such. 

The artists also responded to this challenge by illustrating heroism through training rather than 

combat. Achievement and personal drive are emphasized in Sp5c. Janet Fitzgerald’s Pushing for 

Soldierhood (page 81), which depicts an exhausted-looking female with an expression of intense 

concentration on her face as she runs. Even prior to the creation of the Be-All-You-Can-Be 

slogan, this soldier is clearly attempting to push her boundaries and to attain her potential as 

a soldier. Sgt. Adam Glenday’s Determination (page 93) likewise portrays a soldier striving for 

success in a training environment. The viewer can almost hear the subject’s groan as he literally 

struggles to grasp something just out of reach and to better himself in the process. 
62

Another common feature of Army art from this period is a focus on quiet introspection, 

in which the soldier must look inward to realize his or her potential. The epitome of this is 

volunteer civilian artist Al Sprague’s Moment of Truth (page 86), which portrays the instant 

before the combat jump into Panama. In some cases, such as Sprague’s Cruising the Panama 

Canal (Chinook) (page 87), the subject of contemplation is clear. In other cases, the viewer’s 

imagination colors the mood of the work, as in Sgt. Patrick Farrell’s The Scouts of the 24th 

Infantry Division (page 83). 

There is no cohesive style of the period. Some artists continued to create in brilliant colors 

commonly seen in the Vietnam era, such as Farrell’s Moving Out at Last Light (page 84). Others 

began to work in more subdued palettes, such as Pfc. William H. Steel’s Easter at Outpost 

Martin (page 65), or shunned the use of color completely, as in Steel’s Army Artist Team X 

(page 188), which is the only portrayal of an entire Army Artist Team in the collection. 

Some artists produced in loose, expressive styles, such as volunteer civilian artist Thomas C. 

O’Hara’s On the Range (page 64), and others favored tight lines and meticulous detail, as seen 

in Price’s Combat Ready. This variation in approach is a symptom of the diverse training and 

backgrounds that each artist brought to his or her team, and the art successfully reflects the 

Army’s process of healing from the war and reinventing its identity. 
63

WAITING

Korea

Chester Jezierski, 1970

Watercolor on paper, 19” x 24”

THEY WATCH

Korea

Chester Jezierski, 1970

Watercolor on paper, 19” x 24”
64

ON THE RANGE

Grafenwöhr, Germany

Thomas C. O’Hara, 1970

Acrylic on paper, 20” x 23”
65

EASTER AT OUTPOST MARTIN

Korea

William H. Steel, 1970

Watercolor on paper, 183⁄4” x 24”

“This watercolor of a 

worship area located a 

few feet from the gate 

before entering the no 

man’s land in the Z, was 

very moving to me. I felt 

it was a place where a 

soldier could pray for his 

safe return prior to his 

mission of entering the 

Z, or stop and reflect 

that (hopefully) he had 

a safe mission while in 

the Z, and give thanks 

for his or his comrades 

safe return. The painting 

is cold, as it should be, 

stark and windblown.”

—William H. Steel
66

REMINDERS

Korea

William H. Steel, 1970

Watercolor on paper, 221⁄4” x 301⁄2”
67

IN LIEU OF LUNCH

Korea

William H. Steel, 1970

Ink on paper, 30” x 22”

# 8 TANK (also TANK UNDER CAMOUFLAGE NET)

Korea

Lawrence A. Westby, 1970

Ink and watercolor on paper, 30” x 22”
68

TRAINING EXERCISES

Baumholder, Germany

Joseph S. Hindley, 1972

Pencil on paper, 19” x 24”
69

RUNNING BLUES

Fulda, Germany

Joseph S. Hindley, 1972

Watercolor on paper, 22” x 293⁄4”
70

SILENT SUNDAY

Mainz, Germany

Joseph S. Hindley, 1973

Acrylic on canvas, 32” x 38”
71

MORTAR PRACTICE AT BAUMHOLDER

Baumholder, Germany

William G. Jacobson Jr., 1972

Watercolor on paper, 22” x 293⁄4”
72

FRIDAY MORNING MORTAR PRACTICE

Baumholder, Germany

William G. Jacobson Jr., 1972

Watercolor on paper, 221⁄4” x 293⁄4”
73

FIELD TRAINING

Baumholder, Germany

William G. Jacobson Jr., 1972

Watercolor on paper, 22” x 293⁄4”
74

MEDICAL TRANSPORT

Germany

William F. Voiland, 1972

Pencil on illustration board, 8” x 10”
75

SOLDIER WITH MACHINE GUN

Germany

William F. Voiland, 1972

Pencil on illustration board, 10” x 8”
76

AIRBORNE TROOPER GROUNDED

Fort Cimarrón, Panama

Steven M. Hyatt, 1974

Watercolor on paper, 223⁄4” x 331⁄4”
77

ROAD CROSSING

Fort Gulick, Canal Zone, Panama

Steven M. Hyatt, 1974

Watercolor on paper, 221⁄2” x 301⁄4”
78

STUDY FOR “GUARD DUTY”

Fort Kobbe, Canal Zone, Panama

Steven M. Hyatt, 1974

Watercolor on paper, 223⁄4” x 30”
79

INVASION OF CHECK POINT #3

Fort Chaffee, Arkansas

Raymond R. Reuter, 1975

Watercolor on paper, 30” x 22”

“Most of my time was 

spent just experiencing 

life at Chaffee. I ate in 

the Vietnamese mess 

halls, talked to them, 

and observed them and 

the various soldiers and 

civilians here.”

—Raymond R. Reuter
80

FOOD DELIVERY

Fort Chaffee, Arkansas

Raymond R. Reuter, 1975

Watercolor on paper, 18” x 24”
81

PUSHING FOR SOLDIERHOOD

Fort Jackson, South Carolina

Janet Fitzgerald, 1979

Conte crayon on paper, 9” x 12”
82

AMUSEMENT

Fort McClellan, Alabama

Janet Fitzgerald, 1979

Conte crayon on paper, 12” x 9”

HELL ON WHEELS

Germany

Gary Lewis, 1987

Airbrush on paper, 20” x 141⁄2”
83

THE SCOUTS OF THE 24TH INFANTRY DIVISION

Fort Irwin, California

Patrick Farrell, 1988

Watercolor on paper, 11” x 141⁄4”
84

MOVING OUT AT LAST LIGHT

Fort Irwin, California

Patrick Farrell, 1988

Watercolor on paper, 211⁄2” x 301⁄2”
85

LAYING THE WIRE

Fort Irwin, California

Patrick Farrell, 1988

Watercolor on paper, 113⁄4” x 15”
86

MOMENT OF TRUTH

Panama

Al Sprague, 1988

Oil on canvas, 201⁄2” x 301⁄2”

“As I watched each 

soldier approach the 

open door, I could feel 

the tension and fear—

but that did not stop 

him from launching 

himself into the air. 

The excitement and 

determination was so 

palpable that I wished 

I had on gear so that I 

could jump, too.”

—Al Sprague
87

CRUISING THE PANAMA CANAL (CHINOOK)

Panama, Operation Just Cause

Al Sprague, 1990

Oil on canvas, 24” x 36”
88

JUNGLE NOON

Panama

Al Sprague, 1988

Oil on canvas, 28” x 40”
89

ENGINEERS PREPARING THE SITE

Fort McCoy, Wisconsin

Mary Colleen Cain, 1989

Pastel on paper, 24” x 18”

THE ART OF CAMOUFLAGE

Fort McCoy, Wisconsin

Mary Colleen Cain, 1989

Acrylic on canvas, 36” x 24”
90

THE CHAPLAIN #1

Fort McCoy, Wisconsin

Peter G. Varisano, 1989

Watercolor on paper, 24” x 18”
91

SUNLIT SOLDIER-FIRE TEAM MANEUVERS

Erlangen, Germany

Adam Glenday, 1990

Chalk and pastel on paper, 251⁄2” x 191⁄2”

“It was my desire to 

allow the public to see 

and get a better feel for 

today’s Army through my 

artwork.”

—Adam Glenday
92

THE CREW

Grafenwöhr, Germany

Adam Glenday, 1990

Watercolor on paper, 18” x 24”
93

DETERMINATION

Wildflecken, Germany

Adam Glenday, 1990

Watercolor on paper, 193⁄4” x 251⁄2”
94

COMBAT READY

Germany

Roger W. Price, 1990

Pencil on paper, 10” x 81⁄2”
95

IN SUPPORT

Grafenwöhr, Germany

Roger W. Price, 1990

Watercolor on paper, 18” x 24”

97

Desert Shie

and Desert Stor

I

n viewing the artwork associated with Operations Desert Shield and Desert Storm, o

would conclude that the artists were either willfully or unconsciously making a break 

with their predecessors who documented the American soldier in the jungles of Vietnam. 

Overall, the body of work is bright and bathed in desert sunlight against a very open and 

flat landscape that is only troubled by the distant black plumes of burning oil wells on the 

horizon. The mood is decidedly one of rejoicing, which is associated with the U.S. victory in 

the now famous 100-hour ground war. 

It is important to note that the Army sent two teams of artists to cover the operations. 

The first team, composed of Sfc. Sieger Hartgers and Sfc. Peter G. Varisano, was sent to 

chronicle Operation Desert Shield (August 1990–January 1991), which was the deploymen

and build-up phase. This team produced art featuring soldiers who appear relaxed, youthful, 

and clean but are imbued with a sense of determination. The ever-resilient GI is depicted 

resting, playing chess, attending religious services, and taking care of the wash as in Soldier 

Doing the Laundry by Hartgers (page 102). These light moments are reminiscent of camp 

scenes found in the art of the world wars. The soldiers’ faces are recognizable, well defined, 

and some even dare a smile. The chosen mediums aid the light feeling but are also handled in 

a very traditional manor. Watercolor and pencil sketches replace the heavy oils and acrylics 

that contributed so much to the atmospheric humidity of the art of the Vietnam War.

In contrast to art of previous periods, this art reveals a marked increase in female personnel 

representing typical soldiers. Varisano’s watercolor of a passing female soldier entitled 24th 

Infantry Division Soldier (page 106) shows the woman as an equal with her armed peers. She 

is not identified in the title as a female soldier, but rather as a standard example of a soldier 

from the division, marking a pivotal change in the portrayal of the American soldier. One 
98

aspect of the unique nature and anxiety of the conflict is captured in the portraits of soldiers 

wearing nuclear, biological, and chemical (NBC) protective gear, as seen in Varisano’s Watch 

& Listen for Threats (page 104), which recalls the insect-like appearance of soldiers of World 

War I.

The second team, reservists Capt. Mario H. Acevedo and Lt. Col. Frank M. Thomas, 

deployed after the ground war had concluded and based its impressions on first-person 

interviews, photographs, and visits to the ravaged terrain where the action took place. This 

secondhand experience contributed to the commercial arts style of many of the combat 

action images of Operation Desert Storm. These treatments are markedly devoid of the

themes of death or suffering because the artists did not feel the emotions and react to the 

events firsthand. 

This team’s subject matter and compositions reference themes from World War II that 

underscore decisive military might, such as tanks and helicopters depicted in dynamic action 

and victorious engagements. In contrast, the enemy is portrayed only through destroyed 

equipment. The technology of war is carefully rendered as in the edgy action in The Cavalry 

Advances by Acevedo (page 111), contrasted to the painterly Tent City by Hartgers (page 101), 

with its muted strokes that capture a scene of canvas and ropes universal to the Army of the 

twentieth century. 

Victory, which was defined as removing Iraqi forces from Kuwait, was covered by yet a third 

group of soldier-artists who documented homecoming activities as jubilant forces returned 

to the United States. In the midst of this celebratory atmosphere, the artists also focus on 

intimate moments, such as the reuniting of family members seen in S. Sgt. Emilio E. Arias’

Mother With Child (page 117). This triumphant mood is prevalent throughout all of the art of 

the Persian Gulf war, as victory was imminent and troop morale was high. 
99

SUNDAY SERVICES, PATRIOT MISSILE SITE

Saudi Arabia, Operation Desert Shie

Sieger Hartgers, 1990

Ink on paper, 13” x 121⁄2”

“Machinery comes and 

goes. I show the human 

side. Art from 600 years 

ago still relates to us now 

because it shows the 

human story; that’s what 

gives us value. . . . We can

put feelings into our 

paintings. It’s what 

writers have, what 

musicians have, what 

artists have.”

—Sieger Hartgers
100

CHAPLAIN PLAYING CHESS WITH PATIENT, 5TH MASH, AD-DAMMAM

Saudi Arabia, Operation Desert Shie

Sieger Hartgers, 1990

Watercolor on paper, 223⁄4” x 30”
101

TENT CITY

Ad Dammam, Saudi Arabia, Operation DesertShie

Sieger Hartgers, 1990

Watercolor on paper, 12” x 18”
102

SOLDIER DOING THE LAUNDRY

North of Ad Dammam, Saudi Arabia, Operation Desert Shie

Sieger Hartgers, 1991

Watercolor on paper, 24” x 36”
103

DON’T MESS WITH THE 101ST

Saudi Arabia, Operation Desert Shie

Peter G. Varisano, 1991

Pencil and watercolor on paper, 301⁄2” x 221⁄2”

“This soldier’s look moved 

me because of the 

confrontational stare and 

the amount of equipment 

he was carrying. . . . He 

was ‘rucking up’ to go 

forward and I thought, 

when I saw this image, 

that there is no way we 

are going to lose this war if 

we have soldiers like this.”

—Peter G. Varisano
104

WATCH & LISTEN FOR THREATS

Saudi Arabia, Operation Desert Shie

Peter G. Varisano, 1990

Ink on paper, 14” x 17”
105

DESERT STORM 101ST STYLE

Saudi Arabia, Operation Desert Stor

Peter G. Varisano, 1991

Oil on canvas, 24” x 48”
106

THE CAMEL AND THE EAGLE

Saudi Arabia, Operation Desert Shie

Peter G. Varisano, 1991

Watercolor on paper, 24” x 181⁄2”

24th INFANTRY DIVISION SOLDIE

Saudi Arabia, Operation Desert Shie

Peter G. Varisano, 1991

Watercolor on paper, 24” x 18”
107

TRUCK DRIVER IN THE VII CORPS

Southwest Asia, Operation Desert Stor

Mario H. Acevedo, 1991

Watercolor on paper, 511⁄4” x 403⁄4”

“Most of my paintings 

are focused on a soldier. 

The perception was it 

was a very technical, 

automated war. I wanted 

to make sure people 

understood the burden 

was on the soldiers.”

—Mario H. Acevedo
108

ROAD TO BASRAH

Southwest Asia, Operation Desert Stor

Mario H. Acevedo, 1991

Watercolor on paper, 10” x 12”
109

AH–64 PURSUES THE RETREATING IRAQI ARMY

Saudi Arabia, Operation DesertStor

Mario H. Acevedo, 1995

Watercolor on paper, 16” x 18”
110

STUDY OF THE 1ST ARMORED DIVISION IN COMBAT, FEB ‘91

Southwest Asia, Operation Desert Stor

Mario H. Acevedo, 1991

Watercolor on paper, 12” x 16”
111

THE CAVALRY ADVANCES

Southwest Asia, Operation 

DesertStor

Mario H. Acevedo, 1991

Watercolor on paper, 42” x 363⁄4”
112

CUTTING THE BASRA HIGHWAY

Southwest Asia, Operation Desert Stor

Frank M. Thomas, 1991

Acrylic on canvas, 36” x 60”
113

CHINOOK DOOR GUNNER

King Khalid Military City, Saudi Arabia, Operation DesertStor

Frank M. Thomas, 1991

Pencil on paper, 10 

5/8” x 81⁄4”
114

MEDICAL PERSONNEL PERFORMING TRIAGE

Dhahran, Saudi Arabia, Operation Desert Stor

Jeffrey T. Manuszak, 1996

Oil on canvas, 22” x 28”
115

31ST COMBAT SUPPORT HOSPITAL

Saudi Arabia, Operation DesertStor

Carl E. “Gene” Snyder, 1996

Oil on canvas, 24” x 18”
116

JULY 4TH, 1991

Atlanta, Georgia

Emilio E. Arias, 1991

Gouache on board, 121⁄2” x 181⁄4”
117

MOTHER WITH CHILD

Atlanta, Georgia

Emilio E. Arias, 1991

Colored pencil on board, 30” x 201⁄4”
118

NEW YORK WELCOME

New York City 

Henrietta M. Snowden, 1991

Enamel and watercolor on board, 20” x 221⁄2”
119

Artists-in-Residence

The 1990s

With the establishment of the Artist-in-Residence Program in 1991, artists 

began grappling with how to approach the monumental task of chronicling a 

significant portion of history. Though their role was steeped in tradition dating 

back to World War I, this period represents the first time that an artist was responsible 

for documenting the climate of an era rather than a war or a specific assignment. Where 

does one begin? How does one determine moments of historical importance as they are 

happening? With only one artist, what is recorded and what is omitted? 

More than at any other time, the Army represented a cross-section of the U.S. population. In 

the past, diversity was often highlighted for its own sake. In the Army of the 1990s, soldiers 

of various ethnicities and genders are depicted because of the jobs they are doing, rather 

than for being members of an ethnic group or a particular gender, as seen in Sfc. Christopher 

W. Thiel’s Loading Rail: Preboard Inspection (page 144). With increased freedom to decide for 

themselves what should be recorded and remembered, artists often choose to emphasize 

the individual soldier as the core of the Army. As in the 1980s, the Army’s recruiting slogan 

is still “Be All You Can Be,” and this striving for individual accomplishment is reflected in the 

art. The subject matter is diverse and covers soldiers executing a wide variety of tasks, some 

of which had never been documented in Army art before. Some of the art from this period 

portrays soldiers performing critical, but less-than-glamorous, roles, with an increased focus 

on supply and support.

During this era, the Army expanded artistic coverage of humanitarian missions and relief 

efforts both at home and overseas. With the creation of the Artist-in-Residence position, 

it was logistically easier to send an artist out quickly to document disasters and relief 

missions. With a deployable and available artist, there was no need to recruit artists, review 
120

applications, and request temporary assignment of soldiers to artist teams, as had been done 

in the past. This allowed artists to promptly respond to disasters such as Hurricane Andrew 

in Florida in 1992, as seen in Sfc. Peter G. Varisano’s Loading Up (page 131), and to document 

humanitarian missions such as Operation Restore Hope in Somalia, as seen in Sgt. Jeffrey T

Manuszak’s Road March (page 133). 

Overall, the style of Army art in the 1990s is a departure from the commercial look of the 

Desert Storm artwork and a return to traditional draftsmanship. As though they were trying

to prove that soldiers can be fine artists, they strove to be all that they could be, focusing 

on the artistic basics of color, form, and perspective. Their palette is generally earthy, with 

bright colors used sparingly. The art of this period strongly reflects a soldier’s view of what 

is important to the Army’s history: the many personalities that make up the Army and define 

its character. 
121

NEW SCHOOL IN EL SOCORRO, HONDURAS

El Socorro, Honduras

George Banagis, 1992

Oil on canvas, 38” x 48”
122

COMPANY COMMANDER’S RETURN FLIGHT

Honduras

George Banagis, 1992

Oil on canvas, 16” x 20”
123

2 MINUTES AT HOME

Korea

Brian D. Fairchild, 1992

Pastel on paper, 17” x 123⁄4”

“His squad had just 

negotiated an obstacle 

course and finished a 

nine mile road march. A 

vehicle approached the 

squad; a soldier quickly 

got out and distributed 

a handful of mail. Those 

soldiers lucky enough to 

get a personal letter read 

them where they stood or 

plopped.”

—Brian D. Fairchild
124

FORWARD SUPPORT

Korea

Brian D. Fairchild, 1992

Pastel on paper, 193⁄4” x 251⁄2”
125

UNDER A ‘HUMMER’

Taegu, Korea 

Brian D. Fairchild, 1992

Conte lead on paper, 123⁄4” x 20”
126

YOUNG SOLDIER

Panama

Roberta Lynn Goschke, 1992

Charcoal on paper, 221⁄2” x 151⁄4”

U.S. ARMY DIVER

Panama

Roberta Lynn Goschke, 1992

Pastel on paper, 25” x 19”
127

CONDUIT

Panama

Robert Sankner, 1992

Chalk and charcoal on paper, 12” x 171⁄2”
128

RANGER

Panama

Robert Sankner, 1992

Charcoal on paper, 173⁄4” x 12”
129

BATTERY MOWER

Panama

Robert Sankner, 1992

Pastel and watercolor on paper, 131⁄4” x 17”
130

INOCULATING A GOAT

Panama

Robert Sankner, 1992

Charcoal and gouache on paper, 12” x 173⁄4” 
131

LOADING UP

Florida, Hurricane Andrew Relief

Peter G. Varisano, 1992

Oil on canvas, 20” x 30”
132

MOGADISHU, SOMALIA

Somalia, Operation Restore Ho

Peter G. Varisano, 1993

Pencil and watercolor on paper, 23” x 171⁄4”

“The color contrast 

here is remarkable. The 

orange and white sand, 

the rich blue Indian 

Ocean, the sky is always 

presenting a tempting 

view. The people are the 

best thing. The Somalis 

are intelligent, beautiful 

and most can speak 2 or 

3 languages.”

—Peter G. Varisano
133

ROAD MARCH

Somalia, Operation RestorHop

Jeffrey T. Manuszak, 1993

Pastel on paper, 193⁄4” x 251⁄2”

“The way a historian 

writes about history—we 

paint. We can make 

places look hotter, 

rucksacks bigger, 

men more tired. We 

still have to remain 

historically correct, but 

we can exaggerate 

using the elements of 

art. That’s what makes 

it so different from a 

photograph. We can tell 

a story through painting.”

—Jeffrey T. Manuszak
134

BLADE ASSEMBLY

Somalia, Operation RestorHop

Jeffrey T. Manuszak, 1994

Pastel on paper, 20” x 251⁄2”
135

ON WATCH

Somalia, Operation RestorHop

Jeffrey T. Manuszak, 1993

Watercolor on paper, 143⁄4” x 19”
136

SYMPHONY OF STEEL

Fort Polk, Louisiana

Jeffrey T. Manuszak, 1996

Oil on canvas, 20” x 30”
137

RWANDA PATROL

Rwanda

Carl E. “Gene” Snyder, 1995

Oil on canvas, 16” x 20”

“This is for me. To 

be able to document 

the unsung heroes in 

the mud, grease and 

sweat—it’s poetry. A 

hundred years from now 

our work will reflect the 

Army at the beginning of 

the 21st century.”

—Carl E. “Gene” Snyder
138

ON WATCH IN BOSNIA

Bosnia-Herzegovina, Operation Joint Endeav

Carl E. “Gene” Snyder, 1996

Ink on paper, 18” x 24”
139

PROBING FOR LAND MINES IN BOSNIA

Bosnia-Herzegovina, Operation Jointndeavo

Carl E. “Gene” Snyder, 1996

Oil on canvas, 16” x 20”
140

TEST DAY, PHASE II

Fort Campbell, Kentucky

Carl E. “Gene” Snyder, 1997

Oil on canvas, 24” x 36” 
141

ROCK DRILL

Hohenfels, Germany

Sieger Hartgers, 1995

Oil on canvas, 30” x 40”

“I like painting and I like 

the Army. This is the 

best job for me and the 

Army. I consider myself 

extremely lucky to do 

this for a living. . . . To 

be an Army Artist, you 

have to be a Soldier 

first. That is always the 

bottom line.”

—Sieger Hartgers
142

PULLING THE ENGINE

Hohenfels, Germany

Sieger Hartgers, 1995

Oil on canvas, 30” x 40”
143

SO MANY GRAVES

Arlington National Cemetery

Sieger Hartgers, 1995

Watercolor on paper, 23” x 301⁄2”
144

LOADING RAIL: PREBOARD INSPECTION

Oakland, California

Christopher W. Thiel, 1998

Watercolor on paper, 15” x 221⁄4”
145

JOURNEY BOUND MOTBY

Bayonne, New Jersey

Christopher W. Thiel, 1998

Watercolor on paper, 18” x 24”
146

DISARMING THE SWORD—744TH EOD

1999

Christopher W. Thiel

Charcoal on paper, 24” x 18”
147

SGT F. CURREY, MEDAL OF HONOR

Awarded in 1945

Christopher W. Thiel, 1999

Charcoal on paper, 30” x 20”
148

PEACE KEEPER

Kosovo, Operation Joint Guardia

Henrietta M. Snowden, 2001

Colored pencil and watercolor on paper, 24” x 18”

“It’s the kind of job that 

illustrators look forward 

to . . . you cannot replace 

the experience of being 

on the ground alongside 

the Soldier who’s working 

24/7.”

—Henrietta M. Snowden
149

WAITING TO PHONE HOME

Camp Bondsteel, Kosovo, Operation Joint Guardia

Henrietta M. Snowden, 2000

Colored pencil and watercolor on paper, 24” x 181⁄4” 

0530 WAKE-UP CALL

Camp Bondsteel, Kosovo, Operation Joint Guardia

Henrietta M. Snowden, 2000

Colored pencil and watercolor on paper, 24” x 181

/8”
150

MINISTRY IN THE FIELD

2001

Henrietta M. Snowden

Colored pencil and watercolor on paper, 18” x 24”
151

MEDICINE MAN

Camp Dobol, Bosnia-Herzegovina, Operation Jointndeavo

Henrietta M. Snowden, 2001

Colored pencil and watercolor on paper, 18” x 24”

153

Global War on Terrorism

The Global War on Terrorism (GWOT) marks a maturity of the Artist-in-Residence 

Program. The artists of this period inherited a well-established mission from their 

predecessors in the 1990s, who defined the role of artists as documenters of the 

Army’s contemporary history. Members of the Artist-in-Residence Program serve in a highly 

prized and competitive assignment and are the elite of their military occupational specialty, 

often chosen for the position by their reputation within the career field and vetted by the 

U.S. Army Center of Military History. 

In GWOT art, the atmosphere is charged, such as in Sfc. Elzie Golden’s The Hizara Province 

(page 157). The focus is on the soldiers and their mission. Soldiers wait in anticipation, ready 

to spring into action at a moment’s notice, such as in M. Sgt. Martin J. Cervantez’s Tailgating 

Over the Valley (page 178). Isolated instances of frenzied action occur, as in Golden’s Street 

Fight (page 159). There are very few direct portrayals of an enemy, though the enemy is 

referenced indirectly in Golden’s Martyrdom Denied (page 161). The surroundings are austere 

and often barren, as in Cervantez’s Dust Devils (page 181).

Compared to World War II, this global conflict has been recorded by far fewer artists. As a result, 

this period so far has been defined by the singular vision of a small number of dedicated painters 

and illustrators. The awareness that he or she is solely responsible for such a vast mission creates 

great pressure on the serving resident artist to cover the most important aspects of the time, 

often to the exclusion of all else. Creatively, these artists find themselves working in isolation, as 

opposed to the team atmosphere of the art program during the world wars and Vietnam.

With the resident artist’s focus in one direction and two wars taking place, the visual 

history of the Global War on Terrorism is told simultaneously through art and photography, 
154

which does not capture the ethos of the time. As a result, the resident artist is forced to 

concentrate the themes and message into high-quality compositions that epitomize the era. 

Of his approach to his work, M. Sgt. Martin J. Cervantez, Artist-in-Residence from 2008 

to 2012, concisely stated that he strove for soldiers to be able to point to his art and say, 

“That’s what I did, that’s where I was, and that’s what it looked like.” Distilling the feel of a 

period of history into a small body of artwork requires the artist to bring a great confidence 

to the creation of each piece. 

The overall style of this art demonstrates the artists’ self-assurance. Each artist’s individual 

approach is clear and well developed, instantly recognizable from work to work. Despite the 

monochromatic landscapes of Iraq and Afghanistan, bright colors often make an appearance 

in the art, as seen in Cervantez’s Treacherous Corner (page 180). Numerous paintings and 

drawings of the period show that the artists shared a common interest in light. In 1st Lt. 

Heather C. Englehart’s watercolor Big Country (page 166), backlighting is used to turn a 

personal moment into a universal one with which any soldier can identify. Dramatic lighting, 

reminiscent of chiaroscuro of Italian Baroque painting, is used to highlight an important 

collaboration in Cervantez’s A Huge Responsibility (page 179). The green light of night-vision 

goggles sets a spooky atmosphere in M. Sgt. Christopher W. Thiel’s Bailey’s Pre-Combat 

Checks (page 177).

With the artists’ increased confidence in their role comes a return to artistic convention 

as well. Golden’s Fallujah (page 162) is a glimpse of barracks life, commonly seen in World 

War II Army art. The hustle and bustle featured in S. Sgt. Timothy B. Lawn’s 1/206th Tactical 

Operations Center (page 172) recalls sights documented by Army artists during the world 

wars. Englehart’s Laundry Day (page 164) watercolor is a traditional still-life and reminds 

the viewer of scenes in World War II and Vietnam Army art. Cervantez’s Tailgating Over 

the Valley, which portrays soldiers riding in the back of a CH–47 Chinook helicopter above 

northeastern Afghanistan, is an eerie echo of Al Sprague’s Cruising the Panama Canal (Chinook) 

(page 87), a similar depiction of soldiers engaged in the same activity twenty years earlier. 

The fact that both artists experienced the identical incident and that both were inspired to 

commit it to canvas is indicative of its importance to the history of soldiers. Technology and 

tactics shared across time frame the event, which unfolds visually through repeated themes 

like this one. 

The talented artists assigned to the Artist-in-Residence Program continue to support the 

Army by documenting the military withdrawal from Afghanistan. They are prepared to 

deploy to future operations and meet the challenges of the next era of American conflict and 

peacekeeping. 
155

SEPTEMBER 11

Pentagon, Arlington, Virginia

Henrietta M. Snowden, 2001

Pastel on paper, 30” x 221⁄2”

“No one tells me that I 

have to do this or I have 

to do that, or I have to 

use a certain medium 

or subject matter, so I 

do have a great deal of 

freedom.”

—Henrietta M. Snowden
156

WAITING TO GO TO WAR, 2002

Operation Enduring Fre

Henrietta M. Snowden, 2002

Colored pencil and watercolor on paper, 18” x 24”
157

THE HIZARA PROVINCE

Afghanistan, Operation ndurig Fredo

Elzie Golden, 2003

Oil on canvas, 24” x 30”
158

SATAN’S SANDBOX

Karbala, Iraq, Operation Iraqi Freed

Elzie Golden, 2003

Oil on canvas, 24” x 36”
159

STREET FIGHT

An Najaf, Iraq, Operation Iraqi Fredo

Elzie Golden, 2003

Oil on canvas, 11” x 14”
160

SGT VICKIE HODGE, 3D ID BAGHDAD AIRPORT

Baghdad, Iraq, Operation Iraqi Fredo

Elzie Golden, 2005

Ink and watercolor on paper, 17” x 13”
161

MARTYRDOM DENIED

Mosul, Iraq, Operation 

Iraqi Fredo

Elzie Golden, 2005

Oil on canvas, 30” x 40”
162

FALLUJAH

Al Fallujah, Iraq, Operation Iraqi Freed

Elzie Golden, 2005

Watercolor on paper, 221⁄4” x 30”
163

SLEEPING MECHANIC

Iraq, Operation Iraqi Fredo

Elzie Golden, 2005

Watercolor on paper, 12” x 111⁄4”
164

LAUNDRY DAY

Iraq, Operation Iraqi Freed

Heather C. Englehart, 2004

Acrylic and watercolor on paper, 6” x 81⁄4”

“550-cord, the military’s 

duct tape, is utilized 

here as make-shift 

clothesline. The cord is 

tied off to two concrete 

barriers serving as walls 

of a bunker. This typical 

simple scene speaks 

volumes.”

—Heather C. Englehart
165

HOUSING AREA

Iraq, Operation Iraqi Fredo

Heather C. Englehart, 2004

Acrylic on paper, 9” x 111⁄2”
166

BIG COUNTRY

Camp Anaconda, Iraq, Operation Iraqi Freed

Heather C. Englehart, 2004

Acrylic and watercolor on paper, 9” x 111⁄2”
167

PERIMETER GUARD

Balad, Iraq, Operation Iraqi Fredo

Heather C. Englehart, 2004

Acrylic and watercolor on paper, 121⁄4” x 161⁄4”
168

CONVOY LIVE FIRE

Udari, Kuwait, Operation Iraqi Freed

Heather C. Englehart, 2004

Acrylic on tent canvas, 16” x 22”
169

INCOMING

Camp Anaconda, Iraq, Operation Iraqi Freed

Heather C. Englehart, 2005

Ink and watercolor on paper, 63⁄4” x 12”
170

LZ WASHINGTON, U.S. EMBASSY, BAGHDAD, IRAQ

Baghdad, Iraq, Operation Iraqi Freed

Timothy B. Lawn, 2005

Watercolor on paper, 221⁄2” x 70”
171

MARKET STREET PATROL, MOSUL, IRAQ

Mosul, Iraq, Operation Iraqi Fredo

Timothy B. Lawn, 2005

Ink and watercolor on paper, 103⁄4” x 15”
172

1/206TH TACTICAL OPERATIONS CENTER

Camp Cooke, At Taji, Iraq, Operation Iraqi Freed

Timothy B. Lawn, 2005

Ink and watercolor on paper, 9” x 12”
173

SADDAM’S SWORD

Baghdad, Iraq, Operation Iraqi Fredo

Timothy B. Lawn, 2005

Ink and watercolor on paper, 9” x 12”
174

MASTERS OF CHAOS—ODA563, 5SFG(A), DECEMBER 2001

Afghanistan, Operation Enduring Fre

Christopher W. Thiel, 2006

Oil on canvas, 16” x 20”

Along the bottom edge, 

the artist wrote a quote 

by George Orwell:

“People sleep peaceably

in their beds at night 

only because rough 

men stand ready to do 

violence on their behalf.”
175

1SG VIC FERNANDEZ

Ali Al Salem, Kuwait, Operation Iraqi Fredo

Christopher W. Thiel, 2007

Charcoal and pastel on paper, 24” x 18”
176

TOMAHAWK—GLASS HOUSE DRILL

Camp Liberty, Baghdad, Iraq, Operation Iraqi Freed

Christopher W. Thiel, 2007

Oil on paper, 223⁄4” x 301⁄2”
177

BAILEY’S PRE-COMBAT CHECKS

Tall Afar, Iraq, Operation Iraqi Fredo

Christopher W. Thiel, 2007

Conte crayon on paper, 18” x 24”
178

TAILGATING OVER THE VALLEY

Afghanistan, Operation Enduring Fre

Martin J. Cervantez, 2009

Oil on canvas, 36” x 48”

“My goal during this 

process is to capture 

what soldiers experience 

and how it affects them 

and the community. It’s 

a thrill for me to have a 

soldier see a piece of art 

and say that’s who I was 

and that’s what I did.”

—Martin J. Cervantez
179

A HUGE RESPONSIBILITY

Khost, Afghanistan, Operation 

ndurig Fredo

Martin J. Cervantez, 2009

Oil on canvas, 30” x 40”
180

TREACHEROUS CORNER

Afghanistan, Operation ndurig Fredo

Martin J. Cervantez, 2009

Oil on canvas, 48” x 30”
181

DUST DEVILS

Road near Forward Operating Base Salerno, Afghanistan, Operation Enduring Fre

Martin J. Cervantez, 2010

Oil on canvas, 301⁄4” x 48”
182

HEADING OUT

Afghanistan, Operation Enduring Fre

Martin J. Cervantez, 2010

Watercolor on paper, 5” x 7”
183

BURNING CONTRABAND

Afghanistan, Operation ndurig Fredo

Martin J. Cervantez, 2012

Oil on canvas, 48” x 60”
184

NO MAN’S LAND

Afghanistan

Amy Brown, 2014

Acrylic and pastel on canvas, 20” x 24”
185

TOO MUCH CHOP CHOP

Afghanistan

Amy Brown, 2014

Acrylic and pastel on canvas, 16” x 20”

“I entered the . . . yard

to sketch contracted 

workers dismantling 

damaged mine-resistant, 

ambush-protected 

(MRAP) vehicles for 

scrap metal. I attempted 

to make conversation 

with the workers about 

their mission and it 

became quite obvious 

that our communications 

would be limited due 

to a language barrier. 

The one thing I heard 

repeatedly as I walked 

through the yard or 

sketched was the 

repeated phrase, ‘too 

much chop chop.’”

—Amy Brown
186

FOB WOLVERINE: GUARD TOWER #2

Afghanistan

Amy Brown, 2013

Pen and watercolor on paper, 7” x 9”

“When you deploy, you

feel like you have 

prepared yourself 

for every scenario. I 

took a few tubes of 

watercolors, a couple of 

jars of neutral colored 

acrylics and, of course, a 

lot of pens and pencils. 

Unfortunately, I did not 

return with many pens. 

Most just could not hold 

up to the 100 degree 

plus heat and sitting in 

the sun for extended 

periods of time on the 

flight line. Almost every 

pen I brought over 

exploded from the heat.”

—Amy Brown

188

ARMY ARTIST TEAM X

Korea

William H. Steel, 1970

Acrylic on canvas, 32” x 48”
189

Theodore J. Abraham was born in 1923. He documented Army activities in Vietnam 

in 1967 and in Alaska in 1970 as part of the Volunteer Civilian Artist Program. (24, 25)

Capt. Mario H. Acevedo was born in El Paso, Texas, in 1955 and studied at New Mexico 

State University. He was a captain in the U.S. Army Reserve when called to active duty and 

served six months as a combat artist in Operation Desert Storm. (107, 108, 109, 110, 111

2d Lt. Augustine G. Acuña, born in 1941, served as team leader of Combat Artist 

Team II in Vietnam from October 1966 to February 1967. He studied architecture at the 

University of Arizona. (3, 4)

Pfc. Samuel E. Alexander was born in 1943. He received his bachelor of fine arts from 

the Ringling School of Art in Sarasota, Florida, in 1966. At the time of his selection to Combat 

Artist Team IV, he was assigned to the Information Office, Headquarters Company, U.S. Army, 

Vietnam. He served as an artist in Vietnam from August to December 1967. (26, 27)

S. Sgt. Emilio E. Arias was selected as a member of Army Artist Team XXIX, 

recording Army activities in Korea from February to May 1992. He also served as an 

instructor at the Defense Information School at Fort Meade, Maryland. (116, 117)

S. Sgt. George Banagis served in the U.S. Navy from 1968 to 1972, and during that 

time one of his duties was art director on the USS Midway. He joined the U.S. Army in 

1981 as an illustrator. He was selected for Army Artist Team XXX to document Army 

activities in Panama and Honduras from September to December 1992. (121, 122)

The Artists

2d Lt. Augustine G. Acuña

Numbers in parentheses indicate pages where an artist’s work appears.
190

George Biddle was born in 1885 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. He studied law at Harvard 

University and art at the Pennsylvania Academy of Fine Arts and the Académie Julian in 

Paris. He was chairman of the War Art Advisory Committee, which helped the Army 

select the artists who would paint a record of the war. He reached North Africa just as 

the Tunisian Campaign was coming to an end. About ten days after the first attack, he 

went to Sicily and covered the Sicilian Campaign. He was then assigned to an American 

cruiser that landed English commando groups for the attack on Italy. (x)

Sp4c. Roger Blum, born in 1941, was a member of Combat Artist Team I in Vietnam 

from August to December 1966. After his service, he earned a master’s degree in 

illustration from San Jose State University. (xi, 5, 6, 7, 8)

Sfc. Amy Brown was an art teacher in the North Carolina public school system when 

she witnessed the events of 11 September 2001 and enlisted in the Army as a multimedia 

illustrator. At the time of this publication, she is assigned as Artist-in-Residence. She 

deployed to New York and New Jersey in the fall of 2012 to document relief efforts after 

Hurricane Sandy and to record the Army in Afghanistan in the summer of 2013. Her work 

won first and second places in the illustration category and third place in the fine arts 

category in the 2013 Military Graphic Artist of the Year competition. (184, 185, 186)

2d Lt. Mary Colleen Cain was assigned to Fort Story, Virginia, when she was selected 

for Army Artist Team XXIV to document the training of the Wisconsin Army National 

Guard in 1989. She has a fine arts degree from St. Mary’s College, Notre Dame. (89)

M. Sgt. Martin J. Cervantez is a self-taught artist from Michigan. He was assigned as 

Artist-in-Residence shortly after graduating from the Sergeants Major Academy. Between 

June 2008 and June 2012, he deployed twice to Afghanistan in support of Operation 

Enduring Freedom and once to Haiti to document relief efforts after the 2010 earthquake.

addition to his work as Artist-in-Residence, he has participated in the Combat Paper Project 

and the Joe Bonham Project to record wounded warriors. (178, 179, 180, 181, 182, 183)

Sp5c. Brian H. Clark entered the Army in 1966 as an illustrator and was assigned to 

psychological operations at Fort Bragg, North Carolina. He was a member of Combat 

Artist Team VII in Vietnam from August to December 1968. He earned a bachelor of fine 

arts in 1965 from Wayne State University in Detroit, Michigan. He subsequently studied at 

the Académie de la Grande Chaumière in Paris. (44)

Pfc. Robert T. Coleman attended college at the Kendall School of Design in Grand 

Rapids, Michigan. He volunteered for the draft and traveled to Vietnam as part of Combat 

Artist Team VI from February to March 1968. (43) 

Sp5c. Brian H. Clark
191

Peter F. Copeland was born in New York. He joined the Merchant Marines in World 

War II, serving on an aviation fuel tanker in the Pacific. After the war, he spent twelve 

more years as a Merchant Marine. He volunteered as a civilian artist for the Combat 

Artist Program in 1967. (30)

Sp4c. Michael R. Crook was born in 1941 in Lincoln, Nebraska, and was raised in Sierra 

Madre, California. He received his art education at Pasadena City College, Chouinard 

Art Institute, University of California–Los Angeles, and California State University–Los 

Angeles. Crook was a member of Combat Artist Team III in Vietnam. (28, 29)

2d Lt. James R. Drake studied painting at Leone Cooper School of Art in Webster Groves, 

Missouri. He received his bachelor of fine arts from the University of Cincinnati in Ohio. He was 

a member of Combat Artist Team VIII in Vietnam from February to June 1969. (53, 54, 55)

Sp4c. Theodore E. Drendel is a native of Naperville, Illinois, and majored in art at 

Northern Illinois University. In 1965, he enlisted in the Army. As a member of Combat 

Artist Team II, he documented the Vietnam War from October 1966 to February 1967. (9)

Capt. Heather C. Englehart was born in 1978, attended North Dakota State University, 

and graduated with a degree in architecture. She deployed with the Louisiana Army National 

Guard from 2003 to 2004 in support of Operation Iraqi Freedom. She donated her complete

paintings and drawings to the Army Art Collection. (164, 165, 166, 167, 168, 169)

S. Sgt. Brian D. Fairchild was born in 1961 and grew up in Freeland, Pennsylvania. He 

enlisted in the Army as an illustrator out of high school. As a staff sergeant, he became 

an illustration instructor at the Graphics Documentation Course, Lowry Air Force Base, 

Colorado. He was selected as a member of Army Artist Team XXIX to record Army 

activities in Korea from February to May 1992. (123, 124, 125)

Sp4c. David N. Fairrington studied at Texas Technological College in Lubbock, Texas. 

After five years, he received a bachelor of advertising art and design. He was drafted 

during the Vietnam War and served two years before being selected as a member of 

Combat Artist Team VI. (45)

Sgt. Patrick Farrell graduated from Rhode Island School of Design in 1984 with a 

bachelor of fine arts. A year later, he entered the Army as a motion picture specialist, 

and from 1985 to 1988 he produced videotapes for the Training Support Center, Fort 

Lewis, Washington. From July to October 1988, he served as a member of Army Artist 

Team XXII, documenting training activities at the National Training Center in Fort Irwin, 

California. (83, 84, 85)

Peter F. Copeland
192

Sp5c. Janet Fitzgerald was born in 1949 in Portland, Maine. She has a bachelor of fine 

arts from Columbus College of Art and Design in Ohio. She enlisted as an illustrator in 

1976 and was selected for Army Artist Team XVIII in 1979. Traveling to various locations 

on the East Coast, she documented women’s training and Corps of Engineers activities. 

Following her career as a soldier, she was a civilian graphic designer for the Corps of 

Engineers before retiring in 2008. (81, 82)

Pfc. William E. Flaherty Jr. studied art at the Columbus College of Art and Design in 

Ohio. He freelanced as an illustrator in Columbus and Louisville, Kentucky, before joining 

the Army. He was a member of the 25th Infantry Division combat art program and the 

18th Military History Detachment. He was selected to participate on Combat Artist Team 

VII in Vietnam from August to December 1968. (46)

Sgt. Adam Glenday received a bachelor of fine arts in commercial design from 

Jacksonville State University in 1995. He entered the Army in 1984 and at Fort McPherson 

became his unit’s artist. He was assigned to the 570th Military Police Company when 

he was chosen to participate on Army Artist Team XXV. As a team member from June 

to September 1990, he recorded training experiences of the 1st Armored Division in 

Ansbach, Germany. (91, 92, 93)

Sfc. Elzie Golden was born in 1953 and entered active military service in 1984. He 

was assigned to Training Support Activities, Eighth Army, East, Korea, where he was an 

instructor in the computer graphics section. He was a sergeant when chosen in 1990 

to be on Army Artist Team XXV, which documented Reserve Officers’ Training Corps 

training at Fort Lewis, Washington. He was a senior graphics instructor at the Defense 

Information School at Fort Meade, Maryland. He later served as the Artist-in-Residence 

from 2002 to 2005. His artwork has won numerous awards, including first place in the 

Military Graphic Artist of the Year competition in 2000 and 2002. He studied at the 

School of Visual Arts in New York City and the University of Arizona. (157, 158, 159, 

160, 161, 162, 163)

S. Sgt. Roberta Lynn Goschke was born in Newcastle, Pennsylvania, in 1954. 

She joined the Army in 1975 and took painting and drawing classes while stationed in 

Heidelberg, Germany. She graduated from Northern Virginia Community College in 1991 

with a major in advertising design. She was selected for the Army Artist Program to 

document Army activities in Panama from September to November 1992. (126)

George Harding studied illustration with Howard Pyle. He was one of eight official 

artists sent overseas with the American Expeditionary Forces during World War I. He 

subsequently taught illustration at the Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts. (x)
193

Pvt. James S. Hardy was born in 1944. He studied at the École des Beaux-Arts in Paris 

and at the Sorbonne. He received his bachelor of arts with an emphasis in graphics media 

from San Diego State College. In 1974, he completed graduate school at San Francisco Art 

Institute. He documented the Vietnam War as a member of Combat Artist Team IX. (56)

William C. Harrington received a bachelor of fine arts in sculpture from the University 

of Illinois and a master of fine arts in sculpture from the University of Hartford. He was a 

member of Combat Artist Team VII in Vietnam in 1968. (47)

Sfc. Sieger Hartgers was born in Apeldoorn, Netherlands, in 1949. He has a fine arts degree in 

drawing and printmaking from the Akademie Voor Beeldende Kunsten in Arnhem, Netherlands; 

a bachelor of fine arts in painting from the University of Colorado in Denver; and a master’s 

degree in painting and drawing from the University of Northern Colorado. He joined the Army 

in 1972 as an illustrator assigned to the Sergeants Major Academy. In 1979, he was selected for an 

Army Artist Team to record Army jungle and desert training. He was also a graphics instructor 

and supervisor at the Graphics Documentation School at Lowry Air Force Base, Colorado. In 

1990, he documented Operation Desert Shield. Later, he was selected as the Artist-in-Residenc

to chronicle training at Fort Polk, Louisiana, and the Combat Maneuver Training Center in 

Hohenfels, Germany, in the mid-1990s. (xiii, 99, 100, 101, 102, 141, 142, 143)

Horatio A. Hawks studied at the Wentworth Institute, Boston, and the Worcester Junior 

College in Massachusetts. He served in the U.S. Marine Corps from 1951 to 1952. He traveled 

to Vietnam in February 1969 as part of the Volunteer Civilian Artist Program. (57)

Sp4c. Joseph S. Hindley was born in 1949 and attended the Newark School of Fine and 

Industrial Art in New Jersey, Kansas State University, and the University of Kansas. He was 

assigned as a photographer to the 121st Signal Battalion at Fort Riley, Kansas, when he was 

selected as a team member for Army Artist Team XIII to document the REFORGER exercise 

in 1972. (68, 69, 70)

Sp4c. Steven M. Hyatt was a member of Army Artist Team XV and traveled to Panama in 

April 1974 to document Army activities there. He observed the Jungle Operations Training 

Center, the Tropical Test Center, and the Panama Canal Company. (76, 77, 78)

William G. Jacobson Jr. studied art at Indiana University, though the biggest influence on his 

artistic development was his father, a professional illustrator. He was a member of Army Artist 

Team XIII and traveled to Europe in 1972 to observe and document Army activities. (71, 72, 73)

CWO2 Chester Jezierski studied at the Rhode Island School of Design. He was a member 

of Army Artist Team X and documented the Army in Korea from February to June 1970. (63)
194

Pfc. Phillip W. Jones was born in 1944. He studied at the Ringling School of Art in 

Sarasota, Florida. He was a private at the time of his acceptance to Combat Artist Team 

V, which served in Vietnam from November 1967 to March 1968. (31)

Sp4c. Robert Knight is from Newark, New Jersey. He graduated from the Newark 

School of Fine and Industrial Art with a major in pictorial illustration. Shortly after 

graduation, he was drafted and served in 1966 in Vietnam as a member of Combat Artist 

Team I. (10, 11)

Pvt. John D. Kurtz is from Wilmington, Delaware. He studied at the Pennsylvania 

Academy of Fine Arts and the Accademia di Belle Arti in Florence, Italy. As a member of 

Combat Artist Team VI, he traveled to Vietnam in 1968 to document the war. (48)

Sp5c. David M. Lavender is from Daytona Beach, Florida. He graduated from a threeyear commercial art course at the Ringling School of Art in Sarasota, Florida. In October 

1966, he was sent to Vietnam as a member of Combat Artist Team II. (12, 13, 14)

M. Sgt. Timothy B. Lawn deployed to Iraq as part of Operation Iraqi Freedom fro

2004 to 2005 as an Army photographer, print journalist, and combat illustrator and 

donated his watercolors and drawings to the Army Art Collection. After deployment, 

he served in the U.S. Army Reserve with the Special Operations Command in Tampa, 

Florida. When this book went to press, he was deployed to Afghanistan, serving as 

the public affairs noncommissioned officer in charge with the 1st Theater Sustainment 

Command at New Kabul Compound, Afghanistan. He has contributed art related to 

this latest deployment to the Army Art Collection. He was due to rotate home in early 

summer of 2014. (170, 171, 172, 173)

Pfc. Gary Lewis was born in Goldsboro, North Carolina, in 1967. He studied at 

Southern Wayne Senior High, Goldsboro, North Carolina. He received the Army 

Achievement Medal for graphic arts at Fort Gordon, Georgia, and the Commander’s 

Award for mural painting at Fort Sam Houston, Texas. He held the rank of private 

first class when he served as a member of an Army Artist Team attached to the 116th 

Military History Detachment for the REFORGER exercise in 1987. (82)

Sp4c. Daniel T. Lopez is from Fresno, California. He studied art at Fresno City 

College and Fresno State College before he was drafted. He served as a member of the 

Combat Artist Team IV in Vietnam from August to October 1967. (32, 33)

Sp4c. Robert Knight

Sp5c. David M. Lavender
195

Sgt. Jeffrey T. Manuszak was born in Hammond, Indiana, in 1968. He studied at the Ray 

College of Design in Chicago before enlisting in the Army as an administrative specialist in 

1992. He was stationed at the Pentagon in the U.S. Army Chief of Staff’s office when selected 

by artist Peter Varisano to be part of the first full-time Army Art Program. His assignments 

included documenting Army activities in Haiti, training at Fort Polk, and activities of the air 

assault school, Fort Campbell, Kentucky. After separating from the Army, he earned his 

graduate degree in educational design. (114, 133, 134, 135, 136)

Stephen J. Matthias was born in Washington, D.C., in 1935. He studied at Brown University, 

the Rhode Island School of Design, American University, and the École des Beaux-Arts in 

Paris. He served two years in the U.S. Navy during which time he was the personnel director 

for the Light Photographic Squadron on the USS Randolph in the Mediterranean. He received 

a bachelor of arts in architecture from the University of Virginia and was working at an 

architecture firm in Baltimore when he traveled to Vietnam as part of the Volunteer Civilian 

Artist Program in December 1967. (49)

Pfc. Dennis O. McGee was born in 1940 in Chicago. He received a bachelor of arts in 

commercial art from San Jose State University in 1964. He was serving in Vietnam with a tank 

battalion near Long Binh when he was selected to be a member of Combat Artist Team III. (34)

Sp5c. Burdell Moody is from Mesa, Arizona, and attended Arizona State University. In 1966, 

he was working toward his bachelor’s degree in secondary art education when he was drafted. 

He was a member of Army Artist Team IV in Vietnam from August to October 1967. (36, 37)

Sp5c. Robert T. Myers studied at the Pennsylvania Academy of Fine Arts from 1958 to 1962. In 

1961, he received the William Emlen Cresson European travel scholarship to study fine art abroad. 

He served in Vietnam as a member of Army Artist Team III from February to June 1967. (35)

Thomas C. O’Hara graduated from Cambridge School of Art and received a bachelor of 

fine arts from Rhode Island School of Design in 1947. He spent August 1968 in Vietnam as a 

participant in the Volunteer Civilian Artist Program. (64)

Sp5c. Michael P. Pala is from Bridgeport, Connecticut, and studied art at the Warren 

Harding School. Prior to the Vietnam War, he was an apprentice industrial engraver in 

Bridgeport. As a member of Combat Artist Team VI, he documented the Army in Vietnam 

from February to March 1968. (50)

Pfc. Ronald E. Pepin, born in 1943, was a member of Combat Artist Team I in Vietnam. 

Prior to entering the Army, he was an electronic draftsman, a technical illustrator, and a 

freelance artist. (15, 16)

Thomas C. O’Hara

Pfc. Ronald E. Pepin
196

Carlton Plummer was born in Brunswick, Maine. He graduated from the Vesper School 

of Art and later received a bachelor’s degree from the Massachusetts College of Art and a 

master of fine arts from Boston University of Art. In 1969, he traveled to Bangkok, Thailand, 

as a participant in the Volunteer Civilian Artist Program. (58)

Sp4c. James Pollock was born in South Dakota in 1943. He graduated from South Dakota 

State University in 1965 with a major in art. He served on Combat Artist Team IV from 1966 

to 1967. (38, 39)

Pfc. Gary W. Porter studied at San Diego State College. He was a member of Combat 

Artist Team II, which spent October 1966 to February 1967 in Vietnam. (17)

S. Sgt. Roger W. Price graduated from high school in Reidsville, North Carolina, and 

immediately joined the Army and worked in design, layout, illustration, and photography. As a 

member of Army Artist Team XXV, he documented 1st Armored Division training in Germany 

and the fiftieth anniversary of World War II from June to September 1990. (94, 95)

Sp4c. Stephen H. Randall earned a bachelor’s degree in applied art from Iowa State University. 

From August to December 1968, he was a member of Combat Artist Team VII in Vietnam. (51)

Sgt. Raymond R. Reuter was born in North Wildwood, New Jersey. He earned a 

bachelor’s degree in art education from Marshall University, Huntington, West Virginia. 

He was serving with the 101st Airborne Division when selected in 1975 for Army Artist 

Team XVI. The team’s focus was documenting the resettlement activities at the Vietnamese 

refugee camp at Fort Chaffee, Arkansas, and the U.S. Army in Japan. (79, 80)

Sp4c. Paul Rickert was born in Philadelphia in 1947. He studied art with his father, William 

Rickert, and with the artist Nelson Shanks. He also attended the Los Angeles Art Center 

College of Design. Rickert was a member of Combat Artist Team I in Vietnam from August 

to December 1966. (18)

Col. Robert B. Rigg received his art training from his mother, Irene Rigg, as well as some 

limited training from the Art Institute of Chicago. He painted a number of scenes based on 

his time in Vietnam in 1963, which he donated to the Army Art Collection. His work is the 

only eyewitness art in the collection from Vietnam that predates the start of the Combat 

Artist Program in 1966. (40)

Sp5c. Felix R. Sanchez studied commercial art at the Chicago School of Fine Arts and life 

drawing at the Chicago Art Institute. He enlisted in October 1964 and served in Vietnam as 

a member of Combat Artist Team I. (19)

Sp4c. Paul Rickert

Sp4c. James Pollock
197

Maj. Robert Sankner was born in Carteret, New Jersey, in 1957. He attended Newark 

State College and graduated in 1973 with a bachelor of fine arts. Sankner enlisted in October 

1975 and later completed officer candidate school and was commissioned in 1976. As a 

major in the U.S. Army Reserve, he was selected for Army Artist Team XXX to document 

the Army in the Canal Zone, Panama, from August to November 1992. (127, 128, 129, 130)

Sp6c. Kenneth J. Scowcroft studied at the Famous Artist Commercial School and 

the Graphic Arts Facility at Fort Huachuca, Arizona, and received a degree from the 

University of Arizona. He was a member of Combat Artist Team III, which served in 

Vietnam from February to June 1967. (41)

M. Sgt. Henrietta M. Snowden joined the Army in 1982. In 1991, she was one of 

several artists who volunteered to chronicle homecoming parades for veterans of the 

conflict in the Persian Gulf and reunions of those soldiers with their families. She was 

Artist-in-Residence from 1999 to 2002 and deployed to Kosovo to record day-to-day 

activities and documented the damaged Pentagon following the 11 September 2001 

attacks. (xv, 118, 148, 149, 150, 151, 155, 156) 

Sgt. Carl E. “Gene” Snyder was born in Baltimore, Maryland, in 1968. He enlisted in 

the Army as an infantryman in 1989 and reenlisted as a graphic illustrator in 1991. He was 

a corporal, managing the graphics office of The Old Guard in Washington, D.C., when 

selected by artist Peter Varisano to become a resident artist for the Army Art Program 

from 1994 to 1997. He was later a graphics instructor for the Defense Information School 

at Fort Meade, Maryland, from 1997 to 2000. He has a bachelor’s degree in studio art and 

art history from Vermont College–Norwich University. (xiv, 115, 137, 138, 139, 140)

Al Sprague was born in 1938 in Colon, Panama. He received his bachelor’s degree from 

American University in Washington, D.C., in 1962 and his master’s degree in 1965. He 

has taught art to high school and college students in the United States and Panama. As 

a volunteer civilian artist, he spent twelve days in Panama documenting Operation Just

Cause in 1989. (xiii, 86, 87, 88)

Pfc. William H. Steel graduated from Redwood High School, Larkspur, California, in 

1964 and the California School of Arts and Design in Oakland, California, in 1968. He 

was a member of Combat Artist Team X from February to June 1970 to document U.S. 

Army activities in Korea. (65, 66, 67, 188) 

2d Lt. Craig L. Stewart has a bachelor’s degree in agriculture from the University of 

Washington. He was a member of Combat Artist Team IX in Vietnam from August to 

December 1969. (59)

Sgt. Carl E. “Gene” Snyder
198

M. Sgt. Christopher W. Thiel is a native of Smithtown, New York. He was 

Artist-in-Residence from 1996 to 1999 and documented Army activities in BosniaHerzegovina and Army training throughout the United States. He returned as 

Artist-in-Residence in 2007 after graduating from the Sergeants Major Academy 

and deployed to Iraq to record Operation Iraqi Freedom. He retired from the Arm

in 2008. (144, 145, 146, 147, 174, 175, 176, 177)

Lt. Col. Frank M. Thomas was born in February 1939 in La Habra, California. He 

studied art and education at Brigham Young University and the University of South 

Carolina. He was in the U.S. Army Reserve when called to six months’ active duty to 

document Desert Storm. (112, 113

Sfc. Peter G. Varisano was born in 1956 in Kane, Pennsylvania, and entered the 

Army in 1974. He was a graphics instructor at the basic and advanced courses at the 

Noncommissioned Officer Illustrators School, Lowry Air Force Base, Colorado, from 

1984 to 1991. He participated in two art teams: the first in 1989 documenting training 

with the Wisconsin Army National Guard, and the second in 1990 covering Operation 

Desert Shield in the Persian Gulf. In 1991, he was selected by Army Chief of Staf

General Gordon R. Sullivan to be the first full-time Army Artist-in-Residence. During 

this assignment, he documented Army activities in Florida following Hurricane Andrew 

and operations in Somalia in 1993 and in Rwanda in 1995. He earned a bachelor’s degree 

in studio art from Vermont College–Norwich University in 1994 and a master’s degree 

from the Vermont College of Fine Arts in 1997. After retiring from the Army, he became 

director of graphics instruction at the Defense Information School at Fort Meade, 

Maryland. In 2001, he was the only artist allowed into the security perimeter of the 

World Trade Center in New York after the 11 September 2001 attacks to paint searchand-rescue efforts. (90, 103, 104, 105, 106, 131, 132)

Sp4c. William F. Voiland was born in 1948 and educated at Washington State 

University, Pullman, Washington. While still in college, he started his own design 

business, creating silkscreen posters, commissioned artwork, and portraits. He 

was drafted in 1971. As a member of Army Artist Team XIII, he documented Army 

activities in Germany from October to December 1972. (74, 75)

Sp4c. Victory Von Reynolds was born in 1942 and received a bachelor’s degree and 

a master of fine arts from the University of Idaho. He later taught at the University of 

Nevada, the University of Alabama, and Wayne State College in Nebraska. He enlisted 

in the Idaho Army National Guard in 1966, and, while serving in Vietnam in the 116th 

Engineer Battalion, he was selected to be part of Combat Artist Team Vlll from February 

to June 1969. (60)
199

James Walker was born in 1818 in England. He was largely a self-taught artist. He 

was living in Mexico City in 1846 when the Mexican War began. He offered his services 

as interpreter to the staff of Brig. Gen. William J. Worth and was present at the 

battles of Contreras, Churubusco, and Chapultepec and the capture of Mexico City. In 

1864, he spent several months with the Army of the Cumberland and ultimately was 

commissioned by Maj. Gen. Joseph Hooker to paint the Battle of Lookout Mountain. (ix)

1st Lt. John O. Wehrle was born in 1941 in San Antonio, Texas. He received his 

bachelor’s degree at Texas Technological College in Lubbock, Texas, in 1964 and a 

master of fine arts in painting and printmaking from the Pratt Institute, Brooklyn, New 

York, in 1969. He was the officer in charge of Combat Artist Team I in Vietnam from 

August to December 1966. (20, 21, 22, 23)

Lawrence A. Westby received a degree in advertising design from the Colorado 

Institute of Art. He was a member of Army Artist Team X and documented the Army in 

Korea in 1970. (67)

John Potter Wheat was born in 1920 and studied at the Art Students League at the 

Yale School of Fine Arts and graduated with a master of fine arts. His works are in the 

New Britain Museum of American Art in New Britain, Connecticut; the Springfield 

Museum of Fine Arts in Springfield, Massachusetts; and the Butler Institute of American 

Art in Youngstown, Ohio. During World War II, he was an artist with the Office of 

Strategic Services. He was a civilian artist for the Army in Vietnam from February to 

March 1968 through the Copley Society of Boston. (52)

Sp4c. Ronald A. Wilson was born in Los Angeles, California, in 1941. He studied 

commercial art at Brigham Young University. He was a member of Combat Artist Team 

IV in Vietnam from August to December 1967. (42, 43)

1st Lt. John O. Wehrle

PIN : 104685-000