Support for Green Star families

Artwork created by National Archives artists will carry with it a powerful message about veteran suicide when it arrives at the Post Falls American Legion Post 143 at 1 p.m. Friday.

Joint Operation Mariposa, a Plains, Mont.-based nonprofit that serves under-served and under-represented rural communities where veterans are falling through the cracks, is sponsoring a multi-state event to escort art by David Williams and Harlee Steinebach from Neah Bay, Wash., to the Lincoln Memorial in Washington, D.C.

On the back of the artwork will be signed the names of veterans lost to suicide, followed by green stars, as well as the names of surviving veterans and family members who wish to add their names to the piece as it travels to 50 military bases and veteran service organizations across the country. It will be donated to the nation and accepted by leading political figures from the House and the Senate.

Post Falls will be the fifth stop on the tour.

"It’s quite an honor," Post Falls American Legion adjutant Tim Shaw said. "Veteran suicide is a huge issue that has been going on for not only decades, but probably 100 years. People would come back from war and no one wanted to talk about it. It’s so important to raise awareness about these guys who are dying by bushel load."

The traveling art piece is a section of a 6-foot-tall, more than 1,000-foot-long creation by Williams and Steinebach, titled "Guardians of the Herd." In a Monday phone call with The Press, Williams, who is a Navy veteran and the president of Joint Operation Mariposa, said the piece represents the military and what they do. The green horse burlap painting coming to Post Falls represents Green Star families — those that have lost a veteran to suicide.

Williams said the whole art project took more than 20 months to create.

"In that time, 14,000 veterans committed suicide," he said. "I don’t know of a single veteran that can’t tell you the name of someone who committed suicide, and that's a shame. It should be a rarity, and it's not."

Williams said veterans hide really well when they take off their uniforms.

"But we are still here," he said. "We are in every community, and the lives of the men and women who served with us matter. I hope that this journey demonstrates our commitment to those who are struggling and gives us this rare opportunity to show our communities who we are and our commitments to them as well."

"I just want to show the families that are dealing personally with this issue that they're not alone,” Williams said, "and for the veterans themselves to know they're not alone."

The event is free. Members of the public are invited to attend.

American Legion Post 143 is at 1138 E. Poleline Ave.

Info: jointoperationmariposa.org