Military Inspires Artist's Work On Display at Naval Hospital

When Todd Krasovetz painted Wings of Hope a decade ago, the twin towers still stood in New York's skyline.

When he painted The New American Pride three years later, the towers were gone.

Both paintings hang in Naval Hospital Camp Pendleton as tributes to the Marines and Navy corpsmen who serve their country.

Krasovetz, a San Diego artist specializing in military subjects, took tremendous pride in the paintings as he visited them for the first time in many years Friday. He brought his wife, Kourtney, and daughter, Alyssa, 6, to view them for the first time.

He hadn't seen The New American Pride since it had been framed.

Wings of Hope, a 6-foot-by-5-foot oil on canvas, hangs in the quarter deck lobby at the hospital entrance. The New American Pride, also oil and measuring 4 feet by 5 feet, hangs in the busy waiting room of the Emergency Department.

In addition, Krasovetz painted Savior in a Storm, 4 feet by 5 feet, depicting an injured Marine being carried by a comrade, for the Marine Corps Recruit Depot in San Diego.

And his Hidden Wings hangs at the Field Medical Training Battalion at Camp Pendleton.

Both the Savior and the Wings of Hope images are included in The New American Pride, along with the Twin Towers, the Statue of Liberty and a protective bald eagle.

Krasovetz said his brother, Petty Officer 1st Class Scott Krasovetz, a Navy corpsman, was the inspiration for his desire to show the medic's dedication to duty. His buddy, Corpsman Matt Murphy, posed as an injured Marine being hauled to safety in the Wings of Hope painting.

In a reflection in nearby water, the corpsman bears angelic wings.

Although the painting simulates a battlefield scene, the setting clearly is Camp Pendleton. 

The piece was completed just before Sept. 11, 2001.

Krasovetz said he wanted it to depict “the brotherhood [that] the Marines and the Navy, but also all the military, have.”

It was his first military-themed piece, but since then he has done seven others.

His works, Krasovetz said, “symbolize what they [service personnel] mean to me,” and he said his art “is kind of my way of serving without actually serving [in the military].”

A $394-million naval hospital is on the drawing boards for Camp Pendleton in 2014.

But, according to Douglas Allen, public affairs officer, there's no danger that Krasovetz's paintings will be lost in the move. “I'm pretty sure that it will go with us,” he said, specifically of Wings of Hope. “Nothing will happen to it,” he said.

The new 60-bed, four-story hospital will be near the main gate. Allen said the present eight-story hospital building, built for 600 beds but currently offering only 72, will remain, probably for offices.

But, he said, there may be a clinic as well to serve residents in the area because the new hospital will be far away—12 miles.

“The building is not going to be torn down,” he said.

Meanwhile, Krasovetz will continue to paint with a military theme. He has an assignment to create 23 panes for Cannon Air Force Base in New Mexico.

His work may be viewed at officialmilitaryart.com.

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