The Nevada Department of Veterans Services (NDVS) began its sponsorship of "Always Lost: A Meditation on War" in June 2014 as part of Nevada's 150th Sesquicentennial Celebration.
The exhibit has been on display in a number of locations and will visit Great Basin College in Elko from Nov. 12 - 26, 2014.
The NDVS is underwriting the costs of the Nevada tour as part of its veterans outreach program and to bring together the civilian and military populations to see the faces of what one writer called "the most impersonal ware in American History."
"Nevada has a rich history of support for our military and veterans," says NDVS Director Kat Miller.
"This support must always include remembering our fallen. They are our sons and daughters, mothers, fathers and friends who gave all for their country. Always Lost is the reminder of their personal sacrifice."
The exhibit includes the "Wall of the Dead": individual photographs and names of U.S. service members who have fallen during the Global War on Terrorism in Afghanistan and Iraq.
Courtesy of The Dallas Morning News, the exhibition features the Pulitzer Prize-winning collection of Iraq War combat photographs (2004) by David Leeson and Cheryl Diaz Meyer, with literary work by Professor Swirczek's creative writing classes, veterans, their families and other Nevada writers.
The exhibition, created by WNC-Carson City students, has received national acclaim. In fall 2008, upon seeing The New York Times "Roster of the Dead," WNC sociology professor Don Carlson observed that the Iraq War "has been one of the most impersonal wars the U.S. ever fought." Carlson and English professor Marilee Swirczek envisioned a photography and poetry exhibition that would bring home the personal and collective costs of war.
"To look into the eyes of over 6,500 who have fallen in service to our country is an opportunity to personally recognize and honor this service. I hope every Nevadan takes the opportunity to pay tribute to them when Always Lost comes to their community," says Miller.
"Always Lost: A Meditation on War" is open to the public. For more information, including "The Story of Always Lost" video, visit http://www.wnc.edu/always_lost/. To watch for "Always Lost" and other Nevada 150th events, visit https://www.nevada150.org/
[[In-content Ad]]
