Today, JJ’s Star Spangled Salute honors Vietnam War Army Veteran Les Fordahl. He started studying art at the age of 8. Little did he know it would lead him to Vietnam. Les said, “They needed a draftsman for communication systems in Vietnam.” In the years to follow, Les and a group of men traveled from base to base, from the Delta to the DMZ. They lived with special forces and documented their history and daily activities. Some sketches would take hours to create. Other times he’d take just a few minutes to get an outline to fill in later. It was dangerous work but it was to preserve history. That history is now preserved in the Library of Congress, 85 sketches and five paintings are the ones that made it home. Thank you Les for doing important work and THANK YOU for your service.
