Artist statement: first draft

People don’t realize the realities of war and the fact that you leave things that are very dear to you behind and of the things that the families go through. The image that I created is of a military man giving his daughter a hug. His eyes are filled with tears as he gives his little girl the last hug he will receive from this little person he cares for the most in a very long time. “I love you daddy” she says between sobs, “I love you too” he responds “be strong for mommy”.

My quote is “Straighten those shoulders! How long have you been in the Army?” I think this quote makes you think. The reason is because the view in America and the rest of the world of the military is that they are always very tough, never cry and are very powerful. But what we don’t realize is that they are normal people, they have feelings and they are leaving the people they love: mothers, fathers, sisters, brothers and even best friends.

There is much evidence of this. For example, many soldiers where very excited to come back to see their families especially during Christmas. Many people in the armed forces came back; one of these people was Sergeant Jose Jimenez who has a wife and two daughters. Sergeant Jose Jimenez was deployed three times, each time he has been deployed it has been for a year or more. This is only one example of people who left behind something or someone to go serve their country.

Some of the things that the families go through are very painful. First of all, having a father or mother gone can be very hard, they can never know when they will come back or if they even will come back. Another problem that is very prevalent is post-traumatic stress dissorder. Post-traumatic stress disorder is a problem because when the soldiers come back they basically freak out and in some instances families are destroyed.

Next time you see someone who is leaving for Iraq think of the sacrifices that they make. They are not only risking their lives in different places in the world but they are also missing loved ones and are subject to post-traumatic stress disorder and other disorders. I think that we should put away the mentality of our soldier being rock solid and tough, granted, they do their jobs very well but they are only humans and they also have feelings.