See Portraits of Post-9/11 Veterans Painted by President George W. Bush

Walking through The National Veterans Memorial and Museum’s newest exhibition, visitors are greeted by the faces of men and women staring back from the walls. In some, you can see turmoil and struggle but also resilience and hope.

“Portraits of Courage: A Commander in Chief’s Tribute to America’s Warriors,” is on display in Columbus through Dec. 31. The exhibition includes 66 paintings and a four-panel mural honoring 98 post-9/11 veterans. Each work depicts a service member that President George W. Bush has come to know personally since leaving office.

Among them is retired U.S. Army Staff Sgt Zachariah Collett from Washington Court House, Ohio, whose story is one of combat, trauma and perseverance.

“Still today, it’s incredibly humbling and hard to believe that someone like me from small-town Washington Court House has been given a voice and an opportunity to share my story of service and my healing journey from my time in combat,” Collett says.

Collett enlisted in the military in 2002 at age 17. During eight years of service, he spent 28 months in combat, survived multiple improvised explosive device attacks and suffered a traumatic brain injury that led to his medical retirement at 25.  

Portraits of veterans Leslie Zimmerman (left) and Ramon Padilla (right). (photos courtesy of National Veterans Memorial and Museum

He dedicates his healing journey to his wife, Faryn, who intervened when Collett tried to take his own life in 2012.  

“I struggled with knowing why I was still here because I had the opportunity to leave this Earth many times, and with that came a lot of searching and discovering what it is I'm here for,” he says. “Since then, I’ve been unapologetically me.”

Collett is one of three Ohio veterans featured in the exhibit, including Columbus firefighter and Army Reserve Sgt. Matthew S. Ayers. Each portrait is accompanied by an essay of the veteran depicted written by Bush, which visitors can find in the Portraits of Courage book. 

The project began with Bush’s interest in painting following his presidency. Sedrick Huckaby, a Texas-based artist who became a painting mentor to Bush, encouraged him to “paint the faces of the unknown,” according to Frederic Bertley, CEO of the National Veterans Memorial and Museum.

For Bertley, one portrait captures the power of this collection: Michael “Rod” Rodriguez, a U.S. Army Special Forces veteran. 

“What comes through is the humility, layers and complexity of these individuals,” he says.

Portrait of Zachariah Collett of Washington Court House, Ohio, (left) hanging alongside a portrait of Kent Graham Solheim

Rodriguez comes from a military family with many relatives having served in World War II. He joined the Army in 1992, became a Green Beret in 1997 and was medically retired in 2013 because of numerous combat injuries. He now serves as the president and CEO of the Global War on Terrorism Memorial Foundation. 

Retired U.S. Army Col. William J. Butler, president of the National Veterans Memorial and Museum, has his own favorite portrait: U.S. Army Maj. Christopher Andrew Turner, the only veteran in the exhibition to have two portraits.

Mounted side-by-side, they offer a visual contrast, depicting Turner before and after he received treatment. In the first his face appears hollower and more distant while in the second he appears fuller with a brighter smile.

“We want people to see their service reflected in the faces and in the eyes that are captured in these paintings and in the stories of the veterans that former President Bush wrote,” Bertley says.

300 W. Broad St., Columbus 43215, 614/362-2800, nationalvmm.org

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