thedrifter
03-08-06, 06:39 AM
Posted on Wed, Mar. 08, 2006
Guardsman paints state logo on traffic barrier at U.S. base in Kuwait
By Jim Warren
HERALD-LEADER STAFF WRITER
A Kentucky National Guardsman from Versailles is spreading some of Kentucky's unbridled spirit in Kuwait.
Spec. Chris Vaught recently hand-painted a copy of the Kentucky Unbridled Spirit logo on a 6-by-10-foot concrete traffic barrier at Camp Buehring, Kuwait. It has become a reminder of home for other Kentucky soldiers on duty there, and an inspiration for Gov. Ernie Fletcher back home.
Units based at Camp Buehring traditionally decorate their assigned areas by putting up some kind of art work.
So Vaught, a skilled draftsman even though he claims to be no artist, considered painting a copy of his unit's patch -- he's with the 63rd Aviation Group out of Frankfort. But he decided the Kentucky logo would be more appropriate as "something that really related to home."
Vaught scrounged some blue and red paint left over from another unit's art work and, during his spare time, produced a stunningly accurate, freehand copy of the Kentucky logo, including the sweeping horse's head emblem. It drew immediate attention.
"One day ... a formation of Marines was moving by and two of them broke out of formation and ran to the barrier," Vaught told Kentucky Guard officials. "'You're from Kentucky,' a Marine asked me, and I said, 'Yeah, this is our state logo.' He said, 'I know, I'm from Richmond and my buddy here is from Bowling Green.'"
Back home, someone last week sent Fletcher a picture of Kentucky Guard members posing with Vaught's creation. The governor, then recovering at the hospital from his recent gallbladder illness, was so impressed that he tried to arrange a meeting with Vaught, who was home on a two-week leave at the time. Unfortunately, Vaught was scheduled to leave within a few hours to return to Kuwait, so a meeting was not possible.
Chris Vaught is the son of Ricky and Kelly Vaught of Versailles. His father is a police officer; his mother is a hospital supervisor; and his sister Melissa is in nursing school. Chris joined the Kentucky National Guard during his senior year at Woodford County High School. He graduated in 2003, then attended Eastern Kentucky University before volunteering for assignment in Kuwait last year. He is a flight navigator.
"His teachers always told him he was an artist, but he never took it seriously," Ricky Vaught said. "They also said that people would read about Chris in the news one day, although we thought they were just kidding. But now, this logo thing has just taken off."
http://www.aberdeennews.com/images/kentucky/kentucky/14043/197212012877.jpg
Spec. Chris Vaught of Versailles, a Kentucky National Guard member serving in Kuwait, posed with a Kentucky sign he painted.
Guardsman paints state logo on traffic barrier at U.S. base in Kuwait
By Jim Warren
HERALD-LEADER STAFF WRITER
A Kentucky National Guardsman from Versailles is spreading some of Kentucky's unbridled spirit in Kuwait.
Spec. Chris Vaught recently hand-painted a copy of the Kentucky Unbridled Spirit logo on a 6-by-10-foot concrete traffic barrier at Camp Buehring, Kuwait. It has become a reminder of home for other Kentucky soldiers on duty there, and an inspiration for Gov. Ernie Fletcher back home.
Units based at Camp Buehring traditionally decorate their assigned areas by putting up some kind of art work.
So Vaught, a skilled draftsman even though he claims to be no artist, considered painting a copy of his unit's patch -- he's with the 63rd Aviation Group out of Frankfort. But he decided the Kentucky logo would be more appropriate as "something that really related to home."
Vaught scrounged some blue and red paint left over from another unit's art work and, during his spare time, produced a stunningly accurate, freehand copy of the Kentucky logo, including the sweeping horse's head emblem. It drew immediate attention.
"One day ... a formation of Marines was moving by and two of them broke out of formation and ran to the barrier," Vaught told Kentucky Guard officials. "'You're from Kentucky,' a Marine asked me, and I said, 'Yeah, this is our state logo.' He said, 'I know, I'm from Richmond and my buddy here is from Bowling Green.'"
Back home, someone last week sent Fletcher a picture of Kentucky Guard members posing with Vaught's creation. The governor, then recovering at the hospital from his recent gallbladder illness, was so impressed that he tried to arrange a meeting with Vaught, who was home on a two-week leave at the time. Unfortunately, Vaught was scheduled to leave within a few hours to return to Kuwait, so a meeting was not possible.
Chris Vaught is the son of Ricky and Kelly Vaught of Versailles. His father is a police officer; his mother is a hospital supervisor; and his sister Melissa is in nursing school. Chris joined the Kentucky National Guard during his senior year at Woodford County High School. He graduated in 2003, then attended Eastern Kentucky University before volunteering for assignment in Kuwait last year. He is a flight navigator.
"His teachers always told him he was an artist, but he never took it seriously," Ricky Vaught said. "They also said that people would read about Chris in the news one day, although we thought they were just kidding. But now, this logo thing has just taken off."
http://www.aberdeennews.com/images/kentucky/kentucky/14043/197212012877.jpg
Spec. Chris Vaught of Versailles, a Kentucky National Guard member serving in Kuwait, posed with a Kentucky sign he painted.