Veterans express themselves through art

Debbie Pfeiffer Trunnell, Staff Writer

Created: 02/19/2009 10:05:47 PM PST


It has been almost 40 years since the Vietnam War ended, but Emanuel Stone still has nightmares about the battles he fought long ago.

Recently, the 62-year-old veteran has found an outlet in art.

On Thursday, his most recent artwork, a ceramic chess set, earned him a first-place ribbon at the 2009 VA Loma Linda Creative Arts Competition.

On Thursday, his most recent artwork, a ceramic chess set, earned him a first-place ribbon at the 2009 VA Loma Linda Creative Arts Competition.

“For a long time after the war I felt abandoned. We came home from that war and were spit on,” he said. “So this means more than anything to me. It’s a way to feel good.”

Stone was one of about 55 veterans who entered their artwork in the annual competition held at the Jerry L. Pettis Memorial Veterans Medical Center in Loma Linda.

Veterans are eligible to enter the event if they receive medical care through the VA Loma Linda Healthcare System, which includes medical facilities in Corona, Palm Desert, Sun City, Upland, Victorville and Loma Linda.

The VA has for many years incorporated creative arts into its recreation therapy program. The annual art competition recognizes the progress and recovery made through that therapy.

Richard Burke, an occupational therapy assistant who organizes the event, said participants range in age from 21-year-old Iraq war veterans to men in their 80s who fought in World War II.

He shares Stone’s belief that it is a creative release for the veterans who get involved.

Here is the full article.

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