Untold Stories

It seems we've been absent on the blog for a bit.  Elizabeth broke her hand in February, and both Elizabeth and Sue are spending time on preparations for an upcoming VCQ retreat (of which Sue is chair) at the end of April.  But now that a recent piece of Sue's has been shared on the Colorways by Vicki blog, it's time to share here as well.  Sue created this piece in 2021 as a tribute to her father and his World War II service. It is called "Untold Stories".

Here's her description: "My father fought in World War II, but he didn’t talk about it. I knew he was in North Africa and Sicily but wasn’t interested enough to ask questions when I was younger. When I was 24, he died at age 55 of heart disease. Fast forward 42 years to 2019 when my mother passed away. While going through her things, we found artifacts from his time in military service. They shed some light on his experience but also left other questions unanswered. A brief journal recounts basic training and his first combat in Sicily. What happened after that? What were his experiences in Germany and France? Where and when was he wounded? How did he meet the Barbera family? I wish he was able to fill in the missing pieces of those untold stories."

Sue used Vicki's Barrier Island gradient as background and binding and loves the way the colors tint the photo transfers done with Transfer Artist Paper by Lesley Riley.  Other techniques include photos printed on ink jet fabric and text transfers done with textile medium on a cheesecloth substrate.

Here's a section of text from his journal.  It was only 5 pages in what was an Army issue address book and talked about his basic training and shipping out to North Africa.  From there, a few more stops before being sent to Sicily and seeing his first combat.  And that's where it ends - not the war, just the journal.

The excerpt above describes an American bomb being dropped 75 feet from their fox holes, injuring 18. He also spent time in Germany and France, and was wounded twice. He was awarded a Purple Heart, good conduct medal, combat infantry badge, distinguished service badge and Europe-Africa-Middle East (EAME) service medal.   He was 21 when he was inducted and just shy of his 24th birthday when discharged.  It's hard to imagine what so many endured at such a young age, but also brings deep appreciation for their sacrifices as well as those of our current service members who give of themselves to ensure our freedom..