SPOKANE, WASH. - Since 2004, Michael Reagan has been drawing the faces of fallen soldiers in Iraq and Afghanistan. He draws two portraits a day and so far he's sent more than 3000 to families across the country.
Reagan lives in the Seattle suburb of Edmonds, but he's sent many portraits to parts of the Inland Northwest. KHQ Local News Reporter Alex Rozier was in his studio when he was drawing Specialist Jarrod Lallier of Spokane.
"What he's saying to me is get me done and get me home," Reagan said, looking at Lallier's face. "I don't know him but I love him, and I love his family."
"The drawings represent my love and their loss," Reagan said. "What I'm trying to do is reach into their chest, grab their heart and hold it for them for a while until it can start to heal."
"What he does for families, I don't even know how to put it into words. I know that I get to walk in my door everyday and see my son," said Kim Cole, mother to the late Cpl. Darrel Morris. "He just captured everything about him, the way he was."
It means a lot that we have this to look at every single day," said Lorie Goldsmith, mother to the late Staff Sgt. Wyatt Goldsmith.
Michael Reagan does all of his art for free and works off of only donations. If you'd like to help you can go to www.fallenheroesproject.org or you can send donations to:
The Michael Reagan Foundation
7106 175th Place SW
Edmonds, WA. 98026
John and Lorie Goldsmith, Kim Cole and Kim and Gary Lallier are the three local families featured in this story. Click on the video link at the top of the page to watch the piece and comment below to show your appreciation for military families everywhere.