The United States Army
The United States Army
12/08/2024 | News release | Distributed by Public on 13/08/2024 06:38
NY Guard Soldier Designs Korea, Vietnam Commemorative Medals
[Link] Staff Sgt. Lauren Hicks with her final sketches of the New York State Korean War Commemorative Medal, right, and the New York State Vietnam War Commemorative Medal. (U.S. Army photo by Stephanie Butler) (Photo Credit: Petty Officer 1st Class Stephanie Butler)VIEW ORIGINAL
LATHAM, N.Y. - New York Army National Guard Staff Sgt. Lauren Hicks turned her love for art into state commemorative medals designed to honor New Yorkers' service in the Korean and Vietnam wars.
Hicks, who lives in Saratoga Springs, is the talent behind New York's Korean War and Vietnam War commemorative medals. She said the process involved learning about the two wars, interviewing veterans and using her drawing skills.
"I take pride in being able to be the creator of this medal," she said. "It's very fulfilling to know that I am making a difference in somebody's life."
The New York Legislature and Gov. Kathy Hochul approved the medals in 2022. The Division of Military and Naval Affairs, the state entity that oversees the New York National Guard, is responsible for creating, manufacturing and distributing the medals.
The commemorative medals cannot be worn on a uniform but are intended as the state's recognition to veterans, according to state Sen. Daphne Jordan, the bill's Senate sponsor.
"These new medals will publicly recognize the service and sacrifice of our Korean and Vietnam veterans," she said.
Veterans can apply for a medal at the New York State Military Awards and Decorations page on the Division of Military and Naval Affairs website.
Hicks, an administrative specialist in the military personnel office at Joint Force Headquarters who deals with military awards, said she learned about the commemorative medals and went to her boss and volunteered to design them.
Col. Mark Frank, the New York Army Guard's director of military personnel, said he was happy to take her up on the offer.
"Hicks mentioned that she loves to draw and design," Franks said. "She volunteered her nights and weekends to draft multiple design options for the new commemorative medals."
Hicks, a Louisiana native and an 11-year veteran of the Missouri and New York Army Guard, said she fell in love with art at a young age. Her only formal training was private lessons with a college art student.
Hicks said her research process involved going to VFW and American Legion Posts and talking to veterans. She listened to their stories and noticed their tattoos.
"Whatever Soldiers were willing to tattoo on their body is what they think of for that location or that event that happened," Hicks explained. "So, I looked up a lot of Vietnam- and Korean-inspired tattoos. From those I was able to get a lot of good ideas."
She also studied photographs of the Korean and Vietnam War memorials in Washington for inspiration. The committee that picked the final designs liked those best.
The memorial's ability to captivate and the public's ability to recognize the iconic design and its meaning meant the medal designs would be easily identifiable, Hicks said.
The Vietnam War Memorial features a wall of names, in front of which are statues of three Soldiers wearing the uniforms of that war.
The Korean War Memorial is focused on the 11 statues of a squad of Soldiers, clad in ponchos, on patrol.
The Vietnam War medal Hicks designed features the wall and the three Soldiers.
The Korean War medal features three Soldiers on patrol in the rain, with a traditional Korean house called a Honak in the background.
Hicks is now at work on her next art project: designing the commemorative Iraq and Afghanistan War medals the Division of Military and Naval Affairs will issue next.