Project tells injured troops' stories through sketches
Monday - 5/28/2012, 5:39am ET
WASHINGTON - A special project is happening within the walls of Walter Reed National Military Medical Center in Bethesda, Md.
For one year, five artists have been visiting Walter Reed to capture the stories of wounded troops through illustration.
It's called the "Joe Bonham Project," named for the protagonist in the famous Dalton Trumbo novel "Johnny Got His Gun." The book tells the story of Joe Bonham, a soldier from World War I who lost his face and limbs in an explosion.
In a New York Times video, one illustrator explains the sentiment behind capturing the stories on a sketch pad.
"There's something about the act of drawing that's different than the act of photography," says Victor Juhasz. "Photography comes in and it takes a lot of information but it takes it in a split second. The act of drawing is an intimate relationship."
The drawings will be on display in November at the Pepco Edison Place Art Gallery in D.C.
Read The New York Times article for more on the project.
WTOP's Del Walters contributed to this report. Follow WTOP on Twitter.
(Copyright 2012 by WTOP. All Rights Reserved.)
