Lionhearted

From the front lines to back home, our veterans have made tremendous sacrifices for their families, their communities and our country. But the brave and determined have become increasingly lost and forgotten. The ravages of PTSD, body mutilation due to IEDs, and nightmares resounding with echoes of the battlefield are often the private hells of our returned heroes and warriors. The home that once emboldened our veterans during their most harrowing war time experiences has too often ignored or neglected them upon their return.

Every day, an average of 22 veterans take their own life. This disquieting statistic is rarely noted by the media or our elected leaders. As a tribute to veterans, The Lionhearted project was created. Through art, film, and the written word, Lionhearted gives a voice to 22 veterans from the Army, Air Force, Marines and Navy.

The Artwork

Veteran artist Shawn Ganther created 22 art pieces featuring each veteran’s combat story and their experiences of courage and camaraderie while in Afghanistan, Iraq and other active war zones. The individual pieces – created on pieces of body armor – were painted in the colors, red, white and blue. Combined, they create a 6-foot long, 350-pound mosaic of the American flag.  This tribute to veterans’ stories will live forever enshrined at the National Veterans Art Museum so that their loyal self-sacrifice may become, and remain, a source of our national pride.