Article in Leatherneck

There's an article about Sergeant Kris Battles and myself in the November issue of Leatherneck magazine. We're on pages 66-68. I also created the cover art.

This past weekend I traveled to New York City and had a wonderful evening with two civilian combat artists, Steve Mumford and Richard Johnson. Together we are the forming committee for a proposed International Society of War Artists.

Joshua Mooi....An American Hero

Joshua Mooi

Old Ubaydi Battlefield, November 16, 2005 Operation Steel Curtain. The damaged building to the right (just left of the small plume of smoke) is the sight of the "death house".

On November 16, 2005 then Lance Corporal Joshua Mooi, without thought of his own personal safety, dragged under fire many of the wounded members of his platoon out from a "death house" in Old Ubaydi, Iraq. During his rescue missions Mooi's rifle was rendered useless after taking three AK-47 rounds. In this firefight between 2nd Platoon, Fox Company of the 2nd Battalion of the 1st Marine Regiment and insurgents 5 Marines gave their lives and 11 were severely wounded. The platoon commander, 2nd Lt. McGlothlin was KIA, the platoon sergeant, SSgt. Homer was severely injured by grenade fragments and virtually all their Navy Corpsman were wounded.

Today Joshua was gracious enough to phone and let me know that he has been officially notified that his heroic actions are being recognized with the Navy Cross, which is second only to the Congressional Medal of Honor.

Semper Fi Joshua......job well done!

It Begins...........

Alfred Waud sketching at the Battle of Gettysburg-1863

The number of working war artists is small. Thanks in large part to the connectivity of the Internet we've been able to meet each other. As a result of this widening circle of associations we've decided to create an organization, The International Society of War Artists. Our plank holders include those sponsored officially by the military, individuals working for newspapers, independents, and former war artists. What we each have in common is an intense devotion to casting the artistic eye upon people and places during times of war. All of us have spent significant amounts of time in harm's way sharing the common lot of soldiers, sailors, Marines, and civilians. We trace our origins to Fransico de Goya, Winslow Homer and David Douglas Duncan.