thedrifter
11-10-08, 02:35 PM
Bayou Blue Marine immortalized with historic statue
By Thad Angelloz
Published: Monday, November 10, 2008 at 12:26 p.m.
Last Modified: Monday, November 10, 2008 at 12:26 p.m.
HOUMA - A local Marine is one of two of the 180,000 or so on active duty chosen for a special mission.
Lance Cpl. Lee Trahan, 21, of Bayou Blue, had his image crafted into a life-size statue that was to go on display today in a hallway at the Pentagon in Arlington, Va.
"I am honored to have been selected, and it's very satisfying knowing that hundreds of people will be seeing my face in the Pentagon," Trahan told the Miramar News, a Marine Corps publication.
"When I was selected, I kept asking myself, 'Why me?' " Trahan said. "To be honest, I did it more for my family because I knew it would be something that they'd be proud of."
He was right to think his family would be proud, said his grandmother, Thelma Trahan, 80, of Bayou Blue.
"At first I was almost shocked," she said of learning of the honor, which comes about two years into his Marine Corps service.
"Lee has been a child and a young man that has always tried to do his best, so I can see why they chose him," Thelma Trahan said. "Lee loves the Marines and loves the discipline of the Marines."
The statue, which was to be unveiled in a ceremony honoring the Marine Corps' 233rd birthday, recreates a painting by retired Col. Charles Waterhouse. The painting depicts two Marines resting on an eagle, globe and anchor. One is dressed to represent a Marine from 1775 and the other from the 21st century.
The statue modeled after Trahan is wearing the historical garb. Another, modeled after Sgt. Patrick McKenna, a instructor in Quantico, Va., is wearing a more modern-day camouflage uniform.
Trahan, a 2006 Central Lafourche High School graduate who now works as a flight-equipment technician, says it was his gunnery sergeant who suggested he try for a spot. He was one of about 1,000 to apply.
"About two months later I got a call telling me I was one of two people selected to participate," Trahan said.
The selection process was comprehensive. The judges first considered submitted photographs of each Marine. Each finalist also underwent extensive background checks to ensure the model Marines are good representatives of their units and the Marine Corps. The final selection was made by the Marine Corps' sergeant major.
Trahan and McKenna were dispatched to New York for a casting session, held under the direction of Chuck Girbovan, exhibits-services chief of the National Museum of the Marine Corps.
"Each step took a long time," Trahan said. "They were really going for a certain look. For instance, when they put the plaster on my face, I had to hold a certain look for a while without moving."
Trahan won't be on hand when the statues are unveiled. He's training for his next assignment, a January deployment to Afghanistan.
"It's important, but it's not my top priority right now," he said of seeing the finished display, adding that he's gotten regular updates and seen photographs so he's familiar with how the finished work will look.
Additional photographs of the statues are available online at www.usmcmuseum.org under the pressroom tab. For information on Waterhouse go to waterhousemuseum.com.
Staff Writer Thad Angelloz can be reached at 857-2207 or at thad.angelloz@houmatoday.com.
Ellie
By Thad Angelloz
Published: Monday, November 10, 2008 at 12:26 p.m.
Last Modified: Monday, November 10, 2008 at 12:26 p.m.
HOUMA - A local Marine is one of two of the 180,000 or so on active duty chosen for a special mission.
Lance Cpl. Lee Trahan, 21, of Bayou Blue, had his image crafted into a life-size statue that was to go on display today in a hallway at the Pentagon in Arlington, Va.
"I am honored to have been selected, and it's very satisfying knowing that hundreds of people will be seeing my face in the Pentagon," Trahan told the Miramar News, a Marine Corps publication.
"When I was selected, I kept asking myself, 'Why me?' " Trahan said. "To be honest, I did it more for my family because I knew it would be something that they'd be proud of."
He was right to think his family would be proud, said his grandmother, Thelma Trahan, 80, of Bayou Blue.
"At first I was almost shocked," she said of learning of the honor, which comes about two years into his Marine Corps service.
"Lee has been a child and a young man that has always tried to do his best, so I can see why they chose him," Thelma Trahan said. "Lee loves the Marines and loves the discipline of the Marines."
The statue, which was to be unveiled in a ceremony honoring the Marine Corps' 233rd birthday, recreates a painting by retired Col. Charles Waterhouse. The painting depicts two Marines resting on an eagle, globe and anchor. One is dressed to represent a Marine from 1775 and the other from the 21st century.
The statue modeled after Trahan is wearing the historical garb. Another, modeled after Sgt. Patrick McKenna, a instructor in Quantico, Va., is wearing a more modern-day camouflage uniform.
Trahan, a 2006 Central Lafourche High School graduate who now works as a flight-equipment technician, says it was his gunnery sergeant who suggested he try for a spot. He was one of about 1,000 to apply.
"About two months later I got a call telling me I was one of two people selected to participate," Trahan said.
The selection process was comprehensive. The judges first considered submitted photographs of each Marine. Each finalist also underwent extensive background checks to ensure the model Marines are good representatives of their units and the Marine Corps. The final selection was made by the Marine Corps' sergeant major.
Trahan and McKenna were dispatched to New York for a casting session, held under the direction of Chuck Girbovan, exhibits-services chief of the National Museum of the Marine Corps.
"Each step took a long time," Trahan said. "They were really going for a certain look. For instance, when they put the plaster on my face, I had to hold a certain look for a while without moving."
Trahan won't be on hand when the statues are unveiled. He's training for his next assignment, a January deployment to Afghanistan.
"It's important, but it's not my top priority right now," he said of seeing the finished display, adding that he's gotten regular updates and seen photographs so he's familiar with how the finished work will look.
Additional photographs of the statues are available online at www.usmcmuseum.org under the pressroom tab. For information on Waterhouse go to waterhousemuseum.com.
Staff Writer Thad Angelloz can be reached at 857-2207 or at thad.angelloz@houmatoday.com.
Ellie