Scroll saw cutterhonoring fallen heroes
With the Iraq War still raging and more and more of our soldiers not returning, people at home are trying to find more ways to do their part.
That includes donating money to bring the 45th Infantry Brigade home for the holidays before their deployment to Iraq in January. Ken Younkin of Norman was looking for something to do when he came across an article “Portrait Freedom Underway” in one of his woodcutting magazines.
“Portrait Freedom Underway” is made up of members of the MSN Scroll Saw Portraits group who are creating a custom wooden portrait of every fallen soldier of the Afghan/Iraqi war and donating it to the families.
Their goal is to create and cut a wooden portrait of every fallen soldier, currently numbering more than 3,500. It is something they want to do to show their support of military personnel and to honor those that have paid the ultimate sacrifice to protect our freedom. There is no charge to the family for requesting a portrait.
The Scroll Saw Portrait Freedom Project group has scroll saw artists and hobbyists all across the United States.
“The entire SSP (Scroll Sawn Portrait) organization is very efficient and well organized,” Younkin said. “A family must request a portrait through the Portrait Freedom Web Site. A pattern is developed from the picture the family provides and is posted on the Web site for approval.
“Once the pattern is approved a cutter is contacted via the Internet to see if they are interested in cutting the portrait. A cutter close the where the portrait is to be sent is usually contacted. The finished portrait is posted again on the Internet and once approved the cutter is notified that the portrait is approved for sending to the family. There are several quality control measures along the way to insure the family receives a quality product.”
“The cutter is not provided the address that the portrait is to be shipped to until the portrait is approved for sending,” Younkin said. “Another quality control measure.”
The cutter cuts two portraits usually from birch plywood, a clear finish is applied, black felt backing is applied to both portraits. The portraits then must be approved by a moderator before the families address in provided to the cutter. The cutter then frames one portrait and ships both finished portraits to the family. There is no charge to the family. All labor, materials and shipping are donated.
“Their biggest challenge right now is contacting family members and getting photographs to work with,” Younkin said. “Some families are just not ready. Others think it may be a scam or they will have to pay something later.”
Younkin is working on his fourth portrait and guarantees there is no scam. The first one he did was of Chad Powell, U.S. Army, from Louisiana. Powell’s son is 5 years old and when he saw the portrait he immediately said, “That’s my daddy,” Younkin said.
Other portraits Younkin has done are Nickalous Aldrich, Marines and Brandon Smitherman, Army, both from Texas. He finally was able to do one of an Oklahoma soldier, Scott Vincent, a Marine. He has wanted to cut a fellow Oklahoman since he began the project. Younkin said the organization wants to do a portrait of every fallen soldier from the Iraq or Afghanistan conflict. More than 750 have been cut so far, but only 10 of the 62 deceased Oklahoma soldiers have been completed.
Contact with Portrait Freedom members after the portraits are delivered is up to the families. The Powells were appreciative, Younkin said, and they exchanged Christmas cards. They sent Younkin a photo of Powell just before he went to Iraq, his son Elijah and Chance, Elijah’s 7-month-old stepsister.
“I try to talk to each family at least once to verify their delivery address and also to verify that the portrait was received timely and in good condition,” Younkin said. “The two Texas families have all been by e-mail. The Powells in Louisiana was by phone and the Oklahoma family was by telephone and e-mail. Then the confidential family information is destroyed by the organization.
“This has been one of the most satisfying endeavors I have ever had the opportunity to do. I believe that all the members of Portrait Freedom have a common interest in wanting to honor the memory our fallen military service members and recognize the sacrifice each soldier's family has made.”
Anyone who is a family member or knows of a family member who has lost a son, daughter, husband or wife in the Afghanistan or Iraqi war can e-mail PortraitFreedom@hotmail.com. Due to the magnitude of the project, portraits are only available to the immediate family of the fallen soldier, said Gary Browning, manager of MSN Scroll Saw Portraits group.
Military bases also are encouraged to get in contact with the group if they can help gather photographs of personnel they have lost from their base. A contact person who can get the word out about the Portrait Freedom project to families who may not be aware of the project and can gather photographs and coordinate getting the completed portrait to the families would be an immense help to the project.
Vincent’s mother also has posted the information on MarineParents.com. She said she also will try to get information out to other Marine Corps families who have lost a family member.
Younkin was in the U.S. Army Reserves for 30 years. He received his commission as a 2nd Lieutenant when he graduated from Oklahoma State University in 1970 with a bachelor’s degree in business. He also holds a bachelor’s in accounting and an MBA from the University of Oklahoma. He retired from the U.S. Army Reserves in 2000 at the rank of colonel.
“During most of my career I held several different positions as I advanced in rank as a member of the 95th Division in Midwest City,” Younkin said.
He became comptroller of the J.D. McCarty Center in July 2001. He also is an adjunct professor in the accounting department at Rose State College and usually teaches three evening classes in the fall and two classes in the spring.
For more information on Project Freedom, visit groups.msn.com/SSPSoldierPortraits/homepage.
And remember — “Never judge a man until you have walked a mile in his shoes. Then you have his shoes and you’re a mile away from him,” Vincent always said.
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