Heros Honored

Lance Corporal Joshua Mooi USMC 2nd Platoon, Fox Company, 2nd Battalion, 1st Marines

On January 8, 2009 Lance Corporal Joshua Mooi recieved his Navy Cross. Beside Joshua stood two other Marines and a Navy Corpsman who were recognized for their heroic service with Silver Stars for actions taken on November 16, 2005. A fourth Silver Star was posthumously presented to the parents of Lt. Ryan McGlothlin. The ceremony was held at Marine Corps Base Camp Pendleton, California. You can read about the presentations here.

Small Christmas Gift

Here's a link to an online catalogue of our combat art exhibit at the Navy Museum. I hope you enjoy it, and may all of you have a wonderful Christmas.

Go to War, Do Art

Photo courtesy of Rob Curtis



This is the sketch I was working on when Military Times photographer Rob Curtis took the photos of me at the beginning of the video clip. Military Times has published this week an article about combat art.

Beyond Words

This afternoon my girlfriend, a Sergeant First Class in the Virginia National Guard, called me to see something on the TV. Janis served an 18 month tour in Iraq. She had over 600 missions outside the wire with a civil affairs unit. Just outside the Green Zone in January of 2004, her vehicle was IED'd. Her interpreter Nahla, sitting behind her, died. The back of her head had been blown off. They were on the way to the Baghdad International Airport to pick up Nahla's fiance, an Army Lt. Colonel. Janis didn't cry that day. She was too busy calling in a medevac and securing the blast site.

Today she had tears in her eyes. Here's why......

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......whether you say oorah, or hooah, we, the veterans of the GWOT, share a common bond few others will ever understand.

A new administration is coming to the White House with hopes of making history. We who've made history wish them well. We pray that our sacrifices and successes will not be forgotten. We, for our part, can not and will not.

...and yes, I teared up too.

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.

New and Improved

Here's new and improved version of watercolor I did while out in the field last month. It's slated to be the front cover art for a magazine this November. This image tries to capture a group of Marines at first light sorting their gear, saddling up and getting into formation.

Tomorrow evening the Navy Museum will be hosting a formal opening of a joint Navy and Marine Corps combat art exhibit. The Navy Museum will have a slide show of the art available on-line shortly.....so stay tuned.

Mojave Viper: Two Weeks at the Gates to Hades

Trying to stay cool during the hottest part of the hottest day of the hottest month in the hottest place on earth

Sergeant Kris Battles hard at work
Mortar gun crew under cammie netting preparing for a gun shoot

81mm Mortar Platoon Marine saddled up for live fire training at Range Quackenbush
Weapons Company 2/25 Marine practices with remote control IED detection robot
Marines of Echo Company 2/25 do a dry run up Machine Gun Hill at Range 400

Portrait of Gunnery Sergeant Roger E. Hoke, Jr. Just prior to coming out to Mojave Viper he donated over a liter and a half of bone marrow to his brother. Read about it here.

For two weeks, from August 3 until the 17th, Sergeant Kris Battles and I participated in a training evolution called Mojave Viper. Mojave Viper is a series of demanding live fire exercises in the brutal desert conditions of the Marine Corps base at Twentynine Palms, California. We were invited to cover the training of 2nd Battalion, 25th Marine Regiment (2/25). 2/25 is a Marine Reserve unit preparing for a deployment to Al Anbar Province, Iraq. The unforgiving August heat and rugged terrain of The Stumps is the perfect place to do this.

Sergeant Battles and I covered the departure ceremony of the battalion's Gulf Company this past May. At Mojave Viper we were afforded the chance to cover their Weapons, H&S, Fox and Echo Companies. The overwhelming majority of Reserve Marines in this battalion are from the Northeastern States of New York, New Jersey, New Hampshire, Maine, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island and Massachusetts. Coming from Pennsylvania myself I found I had alot in common with these guys.

The heat exceeded 100 degrees everyday. 106 degrees in the shade was the mid-day norm. I wore the new Modular Tactical Vest. The MTV has gotten mixed reviews. For my part I can tell you it's heavy and when buttoned up sizziling in 120 plus degrees for hours in the back of an amphibious assualt vehicle with 20 other Marines it will suck every molecule of H2O out of you. You can see the Gates of Hades just a few feet away without a problem.

The battalion's Public Affairs Officer was kind enough to write and article about us. Check it out.

Two Down

High Noon Raid, Iraq

Between Sunset and Moonrise, Wazir Pass, Afghanistan

I finished two paintings today. Both are oil paint on gessoed watercolor paper. This particular method was championed by the great American illustrator, Maxfield Parrish.