An excerpt of some thoughts by Mike Reagan
This morning I finished my love letter to Fallen Canine Hero Apollo. He died in this war June 5, 2013. Please Never Forget.
I believe that while I work with the fallen I bring them back for a period of time as I draw. I try to listen to them, even the animals.
A Gold Star family once asked me why I wanted to linger in all of your grief. I answered I wasn’t, I am spending time in your love. If you were to take any of my posts, like Apollo and follow up on the image you would find a fantastic story, sometimes sad, but a nonetheless fantastic story about a Hero. I live in these more then 6000 stories and have for 15 years. While its impossible for me to explain how I feel love for every single fallen hero I draw, the families see it in the result.
Life has 2 realities. The one most of us understand, where we can see, hear, smell and touch it. and the one that we need to learn to just believe, where we can’t do any of those above things. That ability takes trauma to achieve. You learn to believe because you have to, to hold on to whatever you lost that you loved the most. Once I draw a portrait of the fallen they become a part of me. I am a part of a lot of wonderful individuals and animals, who I believe died for me. Never Forget.