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SCOTTSDALE, Ariz. - Marines and Scottsdale residents gathered for
the unveiling of the Marine Week Phoenix mural at the Scottsdale
Civic Center.
Five Marine artists worked for nearly a week in temperatures
upwards of 100 degrees to finish the mural celebrating relationships
built during the week between the Corps and the people of the
greater Phoenix area.
“It has been incredible to have 800
Marines in the Valley of the Sun,” said Jim Lane, the mayor of
Scottsdale, Arizona. “The mural was quite a task, but these Marine
artists accomplished it spectacularly.”
The Marine Corps' one
and only mounted color guard, from Marine Corps Logistic Base
Barstow, California, posted and retired the colors on the backs of
their Palomino horses to start the ceremony. According to Col.
Steven Weintraub, a Scottsdale native, the horses harken back to the
region's Western roots.
“The mural serves as a reminder of
the esprit de corps and the impact the Marines had during the events
of the last week,” said Weintraub.
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Marine Week Phoenix mural is unveiled in Scottsdale, Ariz., Sept. 12, 2015. Five Marine artists
(see below) worked for nearly a week in temperatures upwards of 100 degrees to finish the mural celebrating relationships built during the week between the Corps and the people of Arizona. (U.S. Marine Corps photo by Sgt. Justin Boling)
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The mural features Arizona's mountainous arid landscape
with Marine aircraft soaring through the cloudy, crisp blue
sky. The skyline of Phoenix and a foreground made up of the
silhouettes of Marines among cacti.
“This mural will
remind all of us how special the time spent during Marine
week is,” said Lane. “This event may only be here once,
hopefully we will be lucky enough to bring it back.”
The mural also memorializes Marine and Scottsdale native,
Lance Cpl. Jacob Hug. Hug, a combat videographer, and seven
other Marines perished in a helicopter crash while the Corps
was providing humanitarian assistance and disaster relief to
Nepal. Among the silhouettes of Marines, one Marine is
manning a camera on a tripod.
“I feel honored and
privileged to give back to his memory and his family,” said
Lance Cpl. Abigail Laboy, a mural artist and a combat
photographer. “ We wanted to put him somewhere in mural and
it just fits.”
Hug's family was present and
recognized during the ceremony. Following the unveiling, a
wreath was laid by the silhouette of Hug.
“We are
glad and we are honored to receive this mural,” Lane said.
“It celebrates both our connection to a tradition of
military service and the arts.”
Marine Week Phoenix
is an opportunity for the people of the greater Phoenix area
to meet Marines and learn about Corps' history, traditions
and value to the nation
By U.S. Marine Corps Sgt. Justin Boling
Provided
through DVIDS
Copyright 2015
The U.S. Marines
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