The Fallen Heroes Project by Michael Reagan
Posted by Gary O'Rielly
on May 15, 2012
There is a hero among the Fallen Heroes Project custom portraits of Fallen Servicemen and women drawn free of charge and he is the creator of the project, Michael Reagan. What an inspiring talk (May 11, 2012), bringing tears to our members as Reagan recounted stories from wives, mothers and loved ones of the many, many portraits that he has done. For the family members, it is away of bring closure to the loss of a loved one who sacrificed his or her life in duty to our country and to protect each and everyone of us.
Michael Reagan, a Marine Vietnam Combat Veteran and an internationally-acclaimed portrait artists who lives near Seattle, has assisted charities in raising over $10 million through donated autographed celebrity portraits. Reagan has over 30 years as a portrait artists having drawn over 10,000 portraits including over 2,500 different celebrities, professional athletes, U.S. Presidents and other heads of state. His portraits fetched as much as $7,500 for one of his portraits but that all changed in 2003.
He found it hard to resist the request from the widow of a Navy corpsman killed in Iraq. But, his most significant work has been the portraits of over 2,900 Fallen Heroes over the last eight years. It all started with a call from the wife of a soldier killed in Iraq. After he mailed the portrait to the wife, she called to tell him that for the first time in over a year, she was able to talk to him face to face, bring closure and finally sleep through the entire night. These as just a few of the many letters, TV interviews and the video that appeared on March 29, 2009 on Evening Magazine. He has been interviewed and recognized by ABC, CNN, PBS and the BBC. Michael Reagan is now doing portraits of Fallen Heroes in Britian, France and Canada. Asked by a mother of a Fallen Brit, why an American would do this and what was in-it for him, Mike simply replied, that the United States wasn't the only country with Fallen Heroes and as a former Marine Vietnam Combat Veteran, the Fallen Heroes Project should be shared among all freedom fighting countries.
Reagan works on two portraits a day and spends over $750 in postage each month mailing the framed portrait to mothers, fathers, spouses of Fallen Heroes. For more information, the Michael G. Reagan Portrait Foundation www.fallenheroesproject.org.
He found it hard to resist the request from the widow of a Navy corpsman killed in Iraq. But, his most significant work has been the portraits of over 2,900 Fallen Heroes over the last eight years. It all started with a call from the wife of a soldier killed in Iraq. After he mailed the portrait to the wife, she called to tell him that for the first time in over a year, she was able to talk to him face to face, bring closure and finally sleep through the entire night. These as just a few of the many letters, TV interviews and the video that appeared on March 29, 2009 on Evening Magazine. He has been interviewed and recognized by ABC, CNN, PBS and the BBC. Michael Reagan is now doing portraits of Fallen Heroes in Britian, France and Canada. Asked by a mother of a Fallen Brit, why an American would do this and what was in-it for him, Mike simply replied, that the United States wasn't the only country with Fallen Heroes and as a former Marine Vietnam Combat Veteran, the Fallen Heroes Project should be shared among all freedom fighting countries.
Reagan works on two portraits a day and spends over $750 in postage each month mailing the framed portrait to mothers, fathers, spouses of Fallen Heroes. For more information, the Michael G. Reagan Portrait Foundation www.fallenheroesproject.org.