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'Visions of Valor' Portraits Honor Heroes
(April 13, 2009) |
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| 4/8/2009 - U.S. AIR FORCE ACADEMY, Colo. (AFNS)
-- "Visions of Valor" are on display at the U.S. Air Force
Academy as a collection of black-and-white portrait
photographs of 140 Medal of Honor recipients was presented
by TriWest Health Alliance officials April 3 at the
McDermott Library here.
David McIntrye, the TriWest chief executive officer,
expressed gratitude to the five Medal of Honor recipients
who were present for their service.
"Thank you for illuminating the path," he said, and noted
the collection reflects the pride and sense of duty in such
service. "Cadets will follow in footsteps of greatness."
Speaking to the Medal of Honor recipients, Secretary of the
Air Force Michael B. Donley said, "All of you are true
American heroes. These photographs are a wonderful homage to
America's most revered heroes."
At the ceremony, guests and Medal of Honor
recipients included retired Lt. Col. Joe Jackson who rescued
a three-man Air Force combat control team in Vietnam;
retired Col. Bernard Fisher who held off hostile gun
positions in the rescue of a downed pilot in Vietnam; former
Army Sgt. Peter Lemon who used machine gun and rifle fire,
grenades and hand-to-hand combat in defense of a fire
support base in Vietnam; and former Army Pfc. George Sakato
who led the assault to rescue members of the "Lost
Battalion" from the Germans during World War II.
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Lt. Gen. John F. Regni (left to right), David J. McIntyre, retired Col. Bernard Fisher , Secretary of the Air Force Michael B. Donley Col. Leo Thorsness and Col. Joe Jackson stand next to an unveiled a portrait of Colonel Fisher during the "Visions of Valor" dedication April 3,
2009 at the U.S. Air Force Academy in Colorado. General Regni is the Academy superintendent, Mr. McIntyre is the TriWest CEO, and Colonel Fisher is the first living Air Force recipient of the Medal of Honor, and the first Air Force member to receive this medal for an act of heroism during the Vietnam War without being killed in action. Colonel Thorsness and Jackson are Medal of Honor recipients. U.S. Air Force photo by Mike Kaplan |
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Also on hand was honoree retired Lt. Col.
Leo Thorsness who was shot down in Vietnam on his 93rd
mission while defending U.S. helicopters from MiG fighters.
He spent six years as a prisoner of war.
During his Medal of Honor perspective during the ceremony,
Mr. Thorsness stressed many others also deserved to be
honored.
"We wear this for everyone," he said of the medal.
"Everybody is just a regular guy. They trained well and did
their job."
Mr. Thorsness also reminded those present freedoms are not
to be taken for granted.
"We are so fortunate to have these rights," he said. "All of
us are free to choose our professions, our jobs."
He also reflected on the personal impact of his
imprisonment.
"I never truly have a bad day now. We're stronger than we
think we are," he said.Also
present was the photographer for the "Visions of Valor"
portraits, Nick Del Calzo. The Denver resident who started
photographing Medal of Honor honorees in 1999 in cooperation
with the Medal of Honor Society.
"It's an ongoing process. I was on a plane every week, and
it was fun," he said, and added a small handful of
recipients have yet to be photographed.
The project required travel to 35 states.
His book and national exhibition, "The Triumphant Spirit:
Portraits & Stories of Holocaust Survivors," received high
accolades from many sources, including CNN and the American
Library Associations.
His second book, "Medal of Honor: Portraits of Valor Beyond
the Call of Duty," features 116 Medal of Honor recipients.
The journalist, public relations professional and
photographer regards the project as his way of saying thank
you to veterans.
A self-described "fierce patriot," Mr. Del Calzo used
national monuments as backdrops for a large number of the
Medal of Honor portraits.
"Our monuments are so meaningful and beautiful," he said. "I
wanted to associate the images with the individuals."
Among others, the Vietnam, Korean War and Lincoln memorials,
Mount Rushmore and the White House have appeared in his
photographs.
"I wanted to preserve a sense of reverence for the meaning
and value of the medal," he said.
TriWest previously presented a "Visions of Valor" collection
to the Pentagon, which now hangs in the Pentagon Library and
Conference Center.
Twenty of the 24 feet by 30 feet Academy photographs were
framed and on display during the presentation. Academy
museum specialist Paul Martin said the remainder will be
framed at a later date, and the Academy is exploring
potential display areas.
"We want these portraits to communicate the values of
'service before self' and patriotism to the cadets," Mr.
Martin said. "We are considering locations in the cadet area
for their permanent home."
Fewer than 110 recipients are still living. A total of 3,447
Medal of Honors have been presented in the course of U.S.
history. | |
By
Ann Patton
U.S. Air
Force Academy Public Affairs
Copyright 2009
Reprinted from
Air Force News Service
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