Painting to travel U.S. raising awareness

A military veteran outreach organization in Plains will be using art to help raise the issue of veteran suicide, and it’s not just reaching out to the people of Sanders County, but going coast to coast.

Dave Williams, founder of Joint Operation Mariposa, is sending the painting of a green horse across the United States as a tribute to Green Star Families. The six-foot tall painting for the Veteran Suicide Awareness Journey will be starting its trek in Neah Bay, Washington, and will travel all the way to the Lincoln Memorial in Washington, D.C., according to Air Force veteran Heather Allen. JOM’s vice president, Allen is working on a schedule of stops along the painting’s route. 

Williams said that local veterans will escort the painting through Plains, scheduled to coincide with the Sanders County Parade on Saturday, September 3. Veterans will have the opportunity to sign the painting at the VFW earlier that morning. Veterans family members can sign the back of the painting as it travels across the country and add the names of their loved ones who committed suicide, which will get a green star next to each name, said Williams. 

“It is important to me because I do not believe that I know of a single veteran who can’t tell you the name of a veteran who has committed suicide and many of those names are family members. That is a fact that I can not change but maybe, just maybe, something like this, something that brings us all together in support of those who are struggling, helps at least one,” said Williams, who served in the Navy from 1980 to 1984. He created the painting with the help from Plains resident Hailee Steinebach four years ago for another local project. The painting is a “nod to Green Star Families, families that have lost their veteran to suicide,” said the 60-year-old Williams, who might start the pilgrimage at Neah Bay. 

“There will be scheduled stops at military bases and veterans service organizations in rural and urban communities along the journey. At these stops veterans, their families and the families of veterans that have taken their own lives will be invited to add their names to the back of the artwork,” said Allen. A cart will be built for the painting for when it’s walked through a community.

“We will be driving it from community to community and then allowing the veterans to determine how to proceed from there. We will be able to stay a couple of hours at each stop for pictures and such,” said Allen, who also noted they’ll be stopping at military bases, VFWs and American Legions.

JOM was established in 2015 as an outreach organization for veterans. “Their mission is to bring basic services and quality referrals to the under-represented veteran communities throughout northwest Montana,” said Allen, who added that a major effort includes developing community-based projects designed to bring veterans together and foster vet-to-vet interactions through art, education and therapy. One of the missions of JOM is to bring awareness to veteran suicides and help the families impacted. Each September, the organization places more than 200 American flags on the greenway in Plains as a reminder to people of the loss of veterans to suicide.

“We veterans hide really well when we take off our uniforms but we are still here, we are in every community and the lives of the men and women who served with us matter. I hope that this journey demonstrates our commitment to those who are struggling and gives us this rare opportunity to show our communities who we are and our commitments to them as well,” said Williams, who sustained a traumatic brain injury while on active duty with the Navy. “One person, one family, or one community find the answers they need to begin to fight this problem,” he said.

This artwork was painted in 2018 as part of a 1,000-foot long “Guardians of the Herd” exhibit on the Plains greenway. In addition, a horse was painted to depict each of the five branches of the military, along with one representing the disabled vet, another for those who died in the service of their country, and the Green Star horse. The painting is six feet tall and eight feet wide and painted on burlap. Williams said that the design is based on the line drawings of Moon Illusion on Deviantart.com. All of the “Guardians of the Herd” artwork is in the process of being donated to tribal and veterans organizations as requested by veterans from across the country, according to Allen. People can track the Green Horse’s journey by visiting the JOM website at http://www.jointoperationmariposa.org or watch the progress on http://www.Facebook.com/JointOperationMariposa.

Williams and Steinebach shared in the painting of the entire herd on burlap. “He was teaching me how to paint in the process, showing me how to get value in the colors we were using and how to get the shapes we wanted,” said the 18-year-old Steinebach. 

"Suicide is a prevalent and silent killer in our society. My hope is that this walk will make the public more aware of the hardships people reintegrating back into society have to push through,” said Steinebach, who doesn’t plan to join the military, but has several relatives that are veterans.

Allen said that when the painting gets to Washington, D.C., it will be donated to the nation and accepted by leading political figures from both the House and Senate.

Another painting that Williams and Steinebach did was presented to the president of the United States four years ago. They have artwork on display at the Veterans Administration Regional Office in Helena. Through JOM’s veterans in the classroom, they have helped students of all ages create over 2,000 pieces of artwork.