VA Facility Forces 72-Year-Old Artist To Remove Confederate Flag From His Civil War Mural

by Austin Petersen

By Jonah Bennett

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Paul Sweeney, spokesman for the Grand Junction Veterans Administration Medical Center, places a banner promoting the VA’s medical foster home program in front of a depiction of the Civil War on Thursday. The display is part of a mural showing American military history, from the Revolution to the war in Iraq, that was painted by muralist Lee Bowerman along the north wall of the hospital’s canteen. The banner will hide the Confederate flag until Bowerman is able to remove it from the mural. Source: The Daily Sentinal

Officials at a Department of Veterans Affairs medical center in Colorado want the Confederate battle flag completely removed from a mural.

The Grand Junction medical facility features a mural of the Civil War painted by 72-year-old artist Lee Bowerman and shows a Confederate and Union soldier staring each other down. Bowerman thinks the decision to remove the flag is unfortunate, but has agreed to do as officials ask. In the meantime, officials have placed a banner to cover part of the display until Bowerman has time to finish the job and remove the offensive elements.

“I’m going to paint what they want painted because we’re living in a political environment,” said Bowerman told The Daily Sentinel.

Bowerman, however, still thinks that the mural was already inclusive.

“I got black, brown, white, Army, Navy, Coast Guard, Air Force, POWs and MIAs,” Bowerman said. “I got a mule in there with a gas mask on.” Apparently, that wasn’t enough to satisfy officials.

The VA reportedly heard complaints about the mural following the June 17 shooting in Charleston, but at the Grand Junction Veterans Affairs Medical Center, it has taken almost two months to reach a decision and implement the change.

Just a week after the shooting, the U.S. Army issued a public response, saying that it would not rename bases to remove the association with Confederate generals. The idea behind the Army’s refusal is that the generals are honored for their individual character, not for their involvement in the Confederates States of America. (RELATED: The US Army’s Response To Confederate Base Names Is Perfect)

According to Air Force veteran Gary Parrott, the VA is “altering history” through its decision to erase the battle flag.

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Austin Petersen is a homegrown Missourian with a lifelong passion for liberty. He grew up on a horse farm in Peculiar, Missouri and went on to attend Missouri State University, graduating with a degree in the Fine Arts. After developing a career in media in both New York City and Washington, D.C., he returned to Kansas City, MO, the city he now calls home. In 2016, Petersen appeared on the national stage as a candidate for president of the United States. He took second place in the crowded Libertarian primary behind Governor Gary Johnson and ahead of cyber security maverick John McAfee. During his campaign, Petersen earned many high-profile conservative endorsements, including Mary Matalin, Erick Erickson and Leon Wolf of RedState.com. Petersen also brings decades of professional experience in a wide variety of fields, from content production and media to business and political activism. He is the owner and chief executive of Stonegait LLC, a consulting firm specializing in photo and video services. He was also the director of production at FreedomWorks and an associate producer for Judge Andrew Napolitano’s show “Freedom Watch” on the Fox Business Network. Additionally, Petersen has a national following as a commentator and professional pundit. He is the founder of The Libertarian Republic, a powerful online news source for the public that receives an average of 1 million unique visits monthly and whose podcast, The Freedom Report, receives an average of one million monthly downloads. He is also a frequent contributor on television, appearing on Fox News, Fox Business, CNN, MSNBC and on dozens of local radio shows.

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