February 2010 Archives

RoG Vol 6: Unknown Soldier

Published on February 01, 2010 by Ron Kelsey

I had been working on finishing up the details for the book Reflections of Generosity, when the news of a Soldier passing away was brought to my office. This Soldier was unknown to me as he served on the frontlines of Afghanistan, but his life became familiar as I looked over his belongings prior to them being sent home. As I dealt with the grief of losing an unknown comrade, I received the above submission for the traveling exhibit Reflections of Generosity. As I viewed "Pomegranate Caretakers", I thought of how Soldiers are often the direct caretakers of freedom. Although we may not know them by name, we can recognize the value they offer to our lives.  

In the book Reflections of Generosity I share more about the struggles of losing an unknown Soldier:

“Walking to work, I heard sirens from multiple police vehicles. Down the road Soldiers wandered around with stunned, dazed, and shocked looks on their faces. It did not take long to find out that a fellow Soldier had taken his own life. A week later, his picture was displayed on the fallen Soldier's wall monitor. He looked so young in that photo. I began asking myself, as an artist, what could I have done to help this individual? Could a painting have filled him with hope? Would a listening ear have brought him relief beyond thoughts of suicide? Sadly, this was not the last time I asked myself these questions in Iraq.  

Returning to the office for the regular workday, I longed to speak to other Soldiers about the incident. The weight of grief that day overshadowed the recent joys I had of becoming a father. I searched for balance among suffering, longed for hope beyond tragedy, and sought to understand the purpose of nature’s fragile design.  

It is hard to find beauty among the sacrifices of everyday life. It seems natural to look for answers to life that seem nowhere to be found—what is the main purpose of existence? In his book A Grief Observed, C.S. Lewis wrestles with this question as well:

Sometimes, Lord, one is tempted to say that if you wanted us to behave like the lilies of the field you might have given us an organization more like theirs. But that, I suppose, is just your grand experiment. Or no; not an experiment, for you have no need to find things out. Rather your grand enterprise. To make an organism which is also spirit; to make that terrible oxymoron, a spiritual animal. To take a poor primate, a beast with nerve-endings all over it, a creature with a stomach that wants to be filled, a breeding animal that wants its mate, and say, Now get on with it. Become a god.

I connected with Lewis’s doubts and frustrations through my experience of grief in modern warfare, and this grief challenged how I understood life and art. Even further, I began to doubt the perfection of beauty within God's creation. I wondered if perhaps the world was still in some ways “formless and empty.” The amount of faith it took for me to see God beyond the darkness that remains over the surface of the earth seemed insurmountable. Even so, I drew some hope from visualizing the Spirit of God hovering over my waters of doubt and sorrow.”

Yours, toward restoration and peace,
 
Ron Kelsey, Germany
Nonprofit Artist, Military Liaison for the Arts
ron.v.kelsey (at) us.army.mil 

Image: Teressa Valla (teressavalla-arts.com), Pomegranate Caretakers, Water-based paint on Wood. 11”x14”.

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