IWO JIMA VETERANS SIGN PRINT, TOUCH ARTIST'S PATRIOTIC SPIRIT.Byline: DENNIS McCARTHY Dennis McCarthy may refer to:
He never saw himself as a particularly patriotic guy, Larry Nielson says. So it makes his mission - to find all the local World War II veterans who served on Iwo Jima Iwo Jima (ē`wō jē`mə, ē`wô), Jap. Io-jima, volcanic island, c.8 sq mi (21 sq km), W Pacific, largest and most important of the Volcano Islands. Mt. - a little out of character. Oh, he's always stood when the color guard came marching by in a parade, and he knows all the words when ``The Star Spangled span·gle n. 1. A small, often circular piece of sparkling metal or plastic sewn especially on garments for decoration. 2. A small sparkling object, drop, or spot: spangles of sunlight. Banner'' is sung at sporting events. But the artist was always more interested in this country's western history than its war history. But that all changed a couple of days before Sept. 11, 2001, when he came across the beautiful, powerful picture of the U.S. flag-raising at Iwo Jima. ``It touched something deep inside me, and I knew it was going to change me somehow,'' said Nielson, 65. It was a change that not even he could know would reach all the way into the White House. Nielson, who divides his time between homes in Studio City and Ephraim, Utah Ephraim is a city in Sanpete County, Utah, United States. The population was 4,505 at the 2000 census. It is the location of Snow College. Geography Ephraim is located at (39.358095, -111.584014)GR1. , is an accomplished illustrator who has carved out a successful career depicting American Indians American Indians: see Americas, antiquity and prehistory of the; Natives, Middle American; Natives, North American; Natives, South American. , cowboys and wildlife on old, weathered wood. After seeing that picture of the Iwo Jima flag-raising, he went looking for Looking for In the context of general equities, this describing a buy interest in which a dealer is asked to offer stock, often involving a capital commitment. Antithesis of in touch with. just the right piece of wood to create his own version of photographer Joe Rosenthal's icon scene. ``I started on the 9th of September, worked all through the night and finished it on the 10th,'' Nielson said. ``The morning of the 11th, New York New York, state, United States New York, Middle Atlantic state of the United States. It is bordered by Vermont, Massachusetts, Connecticut, and the Atlantic Ocean (E), New Jersey and Pennsylvania (S), Lakes Erie and Ontario and the Canadian province of was in flames In Flames is a melodic death metal band from Gothenburg, Sweden founded in 1990. Along with Dark Tranquillity and At the Gates, they pioneered what is now known as melodic death metal. , and the painting just took on a life of its own Memory Burn A Life Of Its Own was released by Noise Kontrol in 2002. Memory Burn is made up of several high profile musicians who came together to create this special work. .'' Joe Lake, co-founder of the Children's Miracle Network The Children's Miracle Network (CMN) is an international non-profit organization that raises funds for Children's hospitals, medical research and community awareness of children's health issues. - which has raised hundreds of millions of dollars for children's hospitals in its 22-year history - was shown Nielson's work by a mutual friend. He thought he knew someone who also might be interested in seeing it - President George W. Bush. ``I went to an event in Los Angeles with Vice President Dick Cheney and his wife, Lynn, who are friends, and told them I had a unique and different painting the president might be interested in,'' Lake said. ``Vice President Cheney agreed and gave the painting to the president, who was very impressed by it,'' Lake said. ``I also gave the Cheneys one of Larry's wood paintings of stampeding buffalo.'' Having your work touch the president of the United States The head of the Executive Branch, one of the three branches of the federal government. The U.S. Constitution sets relatively strict requirements about who may serve as president and for how long. is pretty heady stuff, but it didn't compare with what happened next, Nielson said. His painting began to touch the most important people of all: the men who served on Iwo Jima in 1945, when almost 7,000 American soldiers died in a monthlong battle. ``After Larry gave his original wood painting to President Bush, he wanted to give the first commercial print to someone who had fought on Iwo Jima,'' said Keith Renstrom, who had been a gunnery sergeant with the 4th Marine Division on Iwo Jima. ``A friend put us together, and I was honored to receive the painting,'' he said. ``I asked Larry if he had an extra copy I could bring with me to the 55th reunion of the 4th Marine Division I was going to in Texas last year.'' Nielson said he jumped at the chance to have more of the men who fought on Iwo Jima sign his painting. ``When Keith returned with the names, ranks and serial numbers of 64 Iwo Jima veterans signed on it, I felt like I was holding something pretty sacred,'' Nielson said. ``I've been passionate ever since about trying to get more names, and within the last few weeks I've located five more veterans, including a Navajo code-talker,'' says the man who never saw himself as a particularly patriotic guy. If you know of any Iwo Jima veterans who may want to sign Nielson's artwork, sign on to www.windandwings.com, or call him at (801) 367-6811. Dennis McCarthy, (818) 713-3749 dennis.mccarthy(at)dailynews.com CAPTION(S): 2 photos Photo: (1) Local artist Larry Nielson shows a print - the president owns the original - of his painted-on-wood version of Joe Rosenthal's flag-raising scene. Nielson treasures the signatures of U.S. Iwo Jima veterans and hopes more will sign. (2) The knots and grain of weathered wood add natural depth to Larry Nielson's painting. He has been getting Iwo Jima veterans to sign a print. Gus Ruelas/Staff Photographer |
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