JOINT BASE LEWIS-MCCHORD, Wash. – A painting on a cross-country tour from Neah Bay, Wash., to Washington, D.C., highlighting veteran suicide awareness, stopped by the Lewis Main Exchange on Joint Base Lewis-McChord Sept. 1. Joint Operation Mariposa, a registered veterans outreach organization based in Plains, Mont., is sponsoring the journey.
“Neah Bay is the most western point of the United States to start the journey and also starts on the Makah reservation,” said Heather Allen, the vice president of JOM. “Since Native American veterans have an even higher suicide rate, we wanted to include them on the journey.”
The 6-foot-tall by 8-foot-wide painting on a burlap canvas depicts a solitary green horse on a white background. The color of the horse is a tribute to families who have lost their veterans to suicide, also known as Green Star Families. The painting’s scheduled visit to JBLM coincides with September being Suicide Prevention Month.
“We veterans hide really well when we take off our uniforms, but we are still here, we are in every community and the lives of the men and women who served with us matter,” said David Williams, artist and JOM founder who painted the artwork along with Hailee Steinebach. “I hope that this journey demonstrates our commitment to those who are struggling and gives us this rare opportunity to show our communities who we are and our commitments to them as well.”
Williams is a Navy veteran with a traumatic brain injury and a self-taught artist from Sanders County, Mont. Through JOM’s veterans in the classroom program, they have helped students of all ages create over 2,000 pieces of artwork.
“Veterans are trained to be tough and independent and often times keep their feelings to themselves,” Allen said. “We want to make veterans aware they are not alone, and they should talk to a buddy or ask for help.”
There will be scheduled stops at military bases and veterans service organizations in rural and urban communities along the journey. At these stops, veterans, their families and the families of veterans that have taken their own lives will be invited to add their names to the back of the artwork. They will also be allowed to write the name of their veteran and place a green star after the name.
As service members, families, veterans and civilians did their shopping at the Lewis Main Exchange, many stopped by to sign the artwork and honor veterans they knew who have committed suicide.
“I stopped to check out the painting because two years ago, I lost my supervisor to suicide,” said Spc. Christopher Wilkins, a Soldier from the 7th Infantry Division’s headquarters at JBLM. “It makes you think twice how valuable life is, the value of checking in on those closest to you and just being more aware of suicide prevention and seeing the signs and not afraid to action those things you see.”
For 1st Lt. Ardreen Tirados, from the Army Reserve’s 315th Engineer Battalion, 301st Maneuver Enhancement Brigade at JBLM, his experience with knowing people who committed suicide has left an indelible mark on him.
“I went to basic training with someone who took their life six months after we departed training and it’s pretty disheartening,” Tirados said. “To see someone you saw as normal and not seeing any signs and then you just hear from social media groups or word of mouth that all of a sudden that person is no longer with us. So do what you can to pay respect to those no longer with us.”
The painting is scheduled to arrive at its final destination in Washington, D.C., on the evening of Sept. 12. It will be donated to the nation and accepted by leading political figures from both the House and Senate on Sept. 13.
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