Army SGT Peter Damon’s talent reached millions of Internet users on Monday, Nov. 11. His painting of two young children planting American flags was the featured Veterans Day Google Doodle, a temporary alteration of the Google logo on their homepage that commemorates holidays, events, and historical figures.
“I can’t begin to tell you how honored I am to have been chosen to do this painting. I can only hope that my particular painting style does the day justice. My aim was to capture the hopes of all those who have served this great nation, that their commitment and sacrifice to the cause of liberty will not be forsaken,” SGT Damon says on his art blog. “The children in the painting represent the future. In dressing up in camouflage and sailor garb, they salute each branch of the Armed Forces as a whole.”
SGT Damon received the first Homes For Our Troops home in 2004. After losing both arms while serving in Iraq in 2003, Peter taught himself to use his prosthetic hook to pick up and use a pencil, practicing every night in his room while recovering at Walter Reed Medical Center. When he returned home, he started working on pastels. His artwork has been displayed at the U.S. Capitol, the White House, and other prestigious locations across the country. In 2015, he and his wife Jennifer opened True Grit Art Gallery in Middleborough, Mass., where he displays his own artwork as well as other local artists.
Read more about Peter’s story at www.hfotusa.org/damon.