GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. — A West Michigan army veteran's work is aiming to challenge stereotypes about army veterans.
Jill Hinton-Wolf's artwork entitled Mission, Tribe and Grace tells the story of nearly two dozen service members at Veterans Memorial Park in downtown Grand Rapids.
The faces of those veterans are etched on aluminum tiles to tell their stories of resilience-- and to challenge some of the stereotypes some may have about veterans.
"A lot of civilians, tend to think we're all ticking time bombs of PTSD, and certainly veterans suffer from mental health issues, just like anybody else in the population," said Hinton-Wolf. "In fact, the most common cause of PTSD is car accidents. But we're so much more than that, right?"
"It really helps personalize and tell different stories of who these veterans are, what who they used to be, who they are now."
The installation is part of Art for Honor, a collaboration between Kent County Veterans Services, Michigan Veterans Affairs and Pamela Alderman Art.
Each of the tiles has an audio file that goes with it, so you can hear and see the veterans' life stories.
The installation is set up right now at Veterans Memorial Park just off Fulton Street.
You can learn more about the project and listen to those audio files here.
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