TERRE HAUTE —
An outdoor mural depicting the famous World War II flag-raising on Iwo Jima is the start of a much larger project that will pay tribute to veterans of several wars.
The mural in the 1100 block of Wabash Avenue is being painted on a building owned by Brian Mundell, who owns Superior Kitchen and Bath at 1143 Wabash Ave.
The painter Mundell has hired, artist Jim Shepard, plans to include images from World War I, World War II, the Korean and Vietnam conflicts and modern-day wars in the Middle East. The two worked together to develop ideas for the project, and Shepard said he has done research “trying to pick iconic images from those wars.”
The Iwo Jima scene is the focal point of the montage, which is being painted on a surface that is about 12-by-25 feet.
For World War I, Shepard plans to include President Woodrow Wilson, a doughboy and biplanes in a dogfight. For the Korean War, he will include a 38th parallel sign.
On Wednesday afternoon, as he dodged raindrops, Shepard painted an image of the World War I Uncle Sam “I Want You” poster.
“There will be a lot going on” in the montage, said Shepard, who served in the military during the Vietnam War era. He anticipates the project will be completed in about a month. He also has a full-time job as a cake decorator at Baesler’s.
“I’ve been a professional artist for 40 years,” he said. A Terre Haute native, he lived in California for 30 years and worked about half that time for Disney doing animatronics, which are computerized, animated figures that look like the real thing.
He’s done both indoor and outdoor murals for restaurants, zoos and stores. Locally, he’s done murals at Burke Spring, Baesler’s and the 500 Museum of Wheels.
He said he’s happy to be part of a project that shows support for veterans, and he’s already received a lot of positive feedback as people drive by. Some tell him, “Thank you,” while others give him a thumbs up.
“He [Shepard] is very talented,” said Mundell, who’s owned Superior Kitchen and Bath for 17 years. “This was just a perfect spot because it was a blank-looking building, and right on Wabash, where everyone’s going to see it.”
Also, with all the momentum downtown, Mundell wanted to do his part. “It makes this block and Terre Haute look better,” he said.
The mural is part of a much larger effort for Mundell, who hopes to open a military museum at 1129 Wabash Ave. by Veterans Day.
Mundell plans to call the museum the “Veterans Memorial Museum of Terre Haute,” a name suggested by a World War II veteran. Admission will be free.
A collector of war items over the years — items that he’s bought or that veterans have given to him — Mundell has uniforms, helmets, shells, maps, radio equipment and even World War II cigarettes.
Items from World War I include a gas mask, shell, backpack and scrapbook of newspaper clippings. He has a photo, uniform and dogtags of an African-American service member during World War I that will be prominently displayed in the museum section devoted to that war.
In a storage area, Mundell has a wooden coffin case that once held and returned home a World War II service member killed in action; it carries the service member’s name. Someone had called Mundell to ask if he wanted it. Initially, he wasn’t sure, but then he thought, “What sums up more the sacrifice of the veterans?”
If he decides to display it in the museum, Mundell said he first would attempt to contact the family to ensure that it would be OK to respectfully display it.
Mundell tries to keep track of who the items belonged to so he has a history of them. With one World War II Navy pilot uniform, he will have the veteran’s name and a photo of the pilot wearing the uniform.
Collecting war memorabilia and artifacts “is just a passion of mine,” he said. He and his family have visited Normandy, site of the D-Day invasion during World War II, and he’s taken his son to Iwo Jima. He’s also interviewed veterans as part of the Veterans History Project.
The museum “has been on my mind for several years,” he said. When people would visit his house and see his collection, they would encourage him to establish a museum. He took it with a grain of salt, but then realized he did have the building on Wabash Avenue, a place “that would have really good exposure.”
Mundell and his 12-year-old son have been working on one museum section in which they used donated barn wood and barbed wire to re-create a World War I trench.
The east section of the museum will focus on World War I and II, and the west section on Korea, Vietnam and modern-day wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. He doesn’t have much from Iraq and Afghanistan, but anticipates he’ll get many donations of items once people are aware of his project.
Mundell has received some donations of materials as he works on the facility that will house the museum, but primarily, it’s his labor of love and he’s funding both that and the mural. He’s not trying to draw attention to himself, nor is he trying to raise money.
The mural “will bring attention to the museum, which will hopefully bring attention to veterans,” he said.
The mural and museum “are just my small way of trying to say thanks to the veterans, and hopefully people won’t forget what they’ve done for us,” Mundell said while giving a tour of the work that’s been done on the museum.
He believes Terre Haute needs a military museum, and what he’d really like to see is for school students to visit. “The kids are the ones who really need to come in here,” he said.
Sue Loughlin can be reached at (812) 231-4235 or sue.loughlin@tribstar.com.
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Related Photos
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Tribune-Star/Joseph C. Garza He wants you...to see this mural: Artist Jim Shepard paints the likeness of Uncle Sam as he works on the mural for Brian Mundell's military museum on Wabash Avenue on Wednesday.
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Tribune-Star/Joseph C. Garza What it will become: Artist Jim Shepard displays the sketch for Brian Mundell's mural that will features scenes from various wars.
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Tribune-Star/Joseph C. Garza Iconic imagery: Artist Jim Shepherd paints the likeness of Uncle Sam as he works on the mural for Brian Mundell's military museum on Wabash Avenue on Wednesday.
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Tribune-Star/Joseph C. Garza History on display: A World War I uniform that will be displayed in Brian Mundell's military museum on Wabash Avenue.
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Tribune-Star/Joseph C. Garza Wall of war: A part of Brian Mundell's military museum will be a replica of a World War I trench wall that he and his son, Jason, worked on together.
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Tribune-Star/Joseph C. Garza Doughboy memory: Part of Brian Mundell's military collection is this photo of a World War I soldier and his collection of supplies. A note with the photo describes the soldier as Ross Gooch.
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Tribune-Star/Joseph C. Garza Doughboy memory: Part of Brian Mundell's military collection is this photo of a World War I soldier and his collection of supplies. A note with the photo describes the soldier as Ross Gooch.
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Tribune-Star/Joseph C. Garza Was it "over there"? Brian Mundell displays a gas mask Thursday from the World War I era in the office space he plans to turn into a military museum on Wabash Avenue.
Discussion
‘Iconic images’: Wabash Avenue mural to honor veterans
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