More than a name - Fallen soldiers captured in paint
Ken Pridgeon presented Linda Hill of Mesquite with a portrait of her son who was killed in combat.
Painted faces in a backdrop of red, white and blue were proudly displayed in the Martins Mill ISD gymnasium March 18.
The portraits of the Platoon of the Fallen stood at attention while Martins Mill students, faculty and ceremony guests paid reverence to those who have paid the ultimate price.
The portraits are of soldiers, men and women alike, who according to Ken Pridgeon, are “more than just a name on a wall.”
More than a name, Pridgeon said, is what spurred him to hand paint a portrait of each fallen soldier. Pridgeon, with the help of Task Force Home Front, has set out on a quest to honor the fallen soldiers in his Portrait of a Warrior Museum.
Task Force Home Front has taken the position that those who have fallen for our nation deserve more than a name on a wall.
“We feel it is essential that America’s youth fully understand and honor the many young men and women who have paid the ultimate price,” stated Christopher Inman, Task Force sponsor. “One way to honor those who have fallen is building on the work of Ken Pridgeon of Baytown, and his Portrait of a Warrior Museum.”
The project, Faces of the Fallen, seeks to capture the faces of Americans fallen in the line of duty by painting their portraits. The portraits are then carried in parades, displayed at funerals and patriotic events and then presented to the families of the fallen heroes.
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