A tall poster now blocks the Civil War portion of the mural due to complaints about the Confederate flag. It’s unknown exactly how many complaints were filed that led to the V.A. taking action against the artwork.
“The decision was made that we would have to modify the painting, so we called the artist and asked him to ‘rework’ that part of the mural,” Sweeney said. He told Watchdog Arena that artist Lee Bowerman agreed to make the changes and that the current Confederate flag would be repainted as an American flag.
When asked about who directed the ‘reworking’ of the mural, Sweeney claimed that the decision was not made locally. “It was outside of Grand Junction. It could have been regional or it could have been national,” he stated. He said he did not know how complaints made locally about the Confederate flag would have filtered up to higher levels within the V.A.
According to Sweeney, the artist quoted a “reasonable” figure of around $200 to cover and repaint the controversial portion of the mural. “I think we did the right thing in asking him [Bowerman] to come in and redo the work. It’s his vision, it’s his inspiration,” Sweeney said.
When Watchdog Arena asked Sweeney about the reactions of those individuals who work and receive services at the Grand Junction VA to the changes, he concluded that they have been mixed. “To many, this is American history. Unfortunately, the symbol of the Confederate flag has been adopted by extremists and it’s understandable that some people are troubled.”
Several murals by Bowerman grace the Grand Junction VA Medical Center. His illustrations are vivid and evocative, and brighten up an otherwise unremarkable government building. Watchdog Arena attempted to reach Bowerman for comment, but was unable to get his response to the request made to him by the VA to ‘rework’ his mural.
Photo of a different section of Bowerman’s American wars mural.
This article was written by a contributor of Watchdog Arena, Franklin Center’s network of writers, bloggers, and citizen journalists.
Obama wants to change our history- you are helping him!!!
I say keep it to remind us how stupid that war was.
No way that is part of our history. Stop the madness
The VA uses “needs based” access to VA medical care. Basically you have to be indigent to qualify. No matter that you served honorably and even bravely. Nope. You must be an indigent to qualify. A last kiss of the Clinton Administration for American veterans. Nothing is too good for our vets and that is just what you’ll get for serving your country: nothing.
you people are idiots in the gov.
Screw them!
Liberals, the American version of the Taliban and ISIS wiping out/changing history!
No
This is so wrong. Our law makers are doing the same thing $#%&!@* did. Rewriting HISTORY! WATCH OUT IT IS COMING! Unless the American people wake up