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Texas Artist Bringing The Fallen To Life
(January 14, 2011) |
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A portrait of Cpl. Adam Chitjian, 3rd Battalion, 8th Cavalry Regiment, 3rd Brigade Combat Team, 1st Cavalry Division, who was killed in action in Balad, Iraq, Oct. 25, 2007, that was presented to his wife, Shirley Chitjian, by Phil Taylor, artist for and founder of The American Fallen Soldiers Project: Portraits of Patriotism, Jan. 7, during a memorial ceremony at the 58th Street Chapel. |
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FORT HOOD, Texas (1/11/2011) – Duty, honor and country—three
words that instill pride into any soldier and their family.
Yet, when a soldier is killed or missing in action these
words can bring forth inspiration.
This desire was
felt by Phil and Lisa Taylor, founders of the American
Fallen Soldier Project, to help bring closure to the
families and friends of fallen soldiers.
Phil
presented a portrait of Cpl. Adam Chitjian, 3rd Battalion,
8th Cavalry Regiment, 3rd Brigade Combat Team, 1st Cavalry
Division, killed in action in Balad, Iraq, Oct. 25, 2007, to
his wife Shirley Chitjian, Jan. 7, at the 58th Street
Chapel.
“Our mission is to honor, respect and forever
memorialize those who have sacrificed their lives protecting
our freedom while serving in our Armed Forces,” said Phil.
“Our goal, and the heart of the
American Fallen Soldiers Project,
is to comfort and serve the Gold Star families
unconditionally and impartially to the best of our ability
through our portraits.”
Shirley had submitted the
portrait request in 2008 after finding Phil on the internet.
“I believe I was on the TAPS (Tragedy Assistance
Program for Survivors) website when I ran across Phil and I
then ‘googled' him to find out more |
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said. |
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She decided to request a portrait because of
the life-likeness of them.
“It was almost like the
ghost was in the room with you,” she said.
Phil
contacted Shirley earlier this year to gather more
information on Adam to better understand him as a person
before painting the portrait.
“I took the time to
learn who Adam was, where he's from, and how he died,” Phil
said. “I then began working on Adam's portrait and it took
me about 90 hours to complete.” |
“I would remember running in to Adam during deployment
and he usually looked down and tired and I would always
remind him that we're almost home,” said Spc. Isaiah
Parramore, a rifleman with 3-8 Cav., 1st Cav. Div., and
Missoula, Mont. native. “Except sometimes things turn out a
little differently than planned.”
Halfway through the
ceremony Phil invited Shirley to the stage to unveil the
portrait. She leaned in and gave it a kiss and said “welcome
home,” while holding back tears.
“Receiving this
portrait is a milestone and a new beginning,” she said.
“When you're a widow of a fallen Soldier, at some point in
your life you have to figure out how you take that person
with you and still go forward and for me, today represented
that point.”
Phil reiterated how moving it is for him
and how passionate he is about painting each and every
portrait. |
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Phil Taylor, artist for and founder of The American Fallen Soldiers Project: Portraits of Patriotism, embraces Shirley Chitjian, wife of Cpl. Adam Chitjian, 3rd Battalion, 8th Cavalry Regiment, 3rd Brigade Combat Team, 1st Cavalry Division, who was killed in action in Balad, Iraq, Oct. 25, 2007, after presenting her a portrait of her husband during a memorial ceremony at the 58th Street Chapel. |
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“The experience of painting a portrait of
someone taken too soon and then having the opportunity to
give this gift to a grieving family is very profound to me,”
he said. “And hopefully it brings comfort and peace to
Shirley and her family.”
The portrait
presentation ceremony consisted of an audience of Soldiers
from Adam's battalion as well as members from Adam's family.
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Article and photos by Army Sgt. Kimberly Browne
Headquarters, 1st Cavalry Division Public Affairs
Copyright 2011 | |
Provided
through DVIDS
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