Soldiers' families open portrait exhibit at MCC

U.S. Army Specialist Collier Barcus died a soldier, but to those who knew and loved him best, he will always be a cowboy.

So it was only fitting Friday that when a traveling exhibit featuring portraits of Illinois military personnel killed since Sept. 11, 2001, arrived at McHenry County College, the McHenry man slain in Iraq is depicted not in his military uniform, but in a cowboy hat and work shirt with a broad, youthful smile across his face.

"That is what Collier was to everybody who knew him, a cowboy," said his mother, Sandy Barcus. "(The artist) did a great job of getting his smile. That's him."

Barcus' portrait was one of three displayed prominently at a ceremony opening the exhibit Friday, joining those of Lance Cpl. Jonathan Collins of Crystal Lake and First Lt. Brian Slavenas of Genoa.

Their portraits will hang in the college's commons area through Tuesday, alongside those of more than 175 other Illinois residents killed in the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan or on Sept. 11, 2001.

The portraits are the work of Cameron Schilling, an Eastern Illinois University student from Mattoon who began creating the drawings after a serviceman from his hometown died in Iraq. Since then, he's drawn a portrait for the family of every Illinois soldier killed in the wars.

Sandy Barcus, whose son was 21 years old in July 2004 when killed by a mortar attack in Baghdad, said the portraits serve as a reminder of the sacrifices young people are making for their country.

"This lets people know that it's not the folks in Washington fighting for their freedom over there, it's the young men and women who volunteer and we're lucky to have them," she said.

Illinois Lt. Governor Pat Quinn opened the exhibit, saying Schilling's portraits capture the essence of true heroes.

"These soldiers, they're not just statistics, not just names you read in the newspaper," Quinn said. "They were living, breathing human beings who should always remain in our hearts and our memories."

Jack Collins, the father of Jonathan, said he is happy to see the portraits hang at McHenry County College, where students his 19-year-old son's age can see the sacrifice their peers are making overseas. His son, a who joined the Marines shortly after graduating from Crystal Lake South High School, died in August 2004 while serving in the Al-Anbar province of Iraq.

The exhibit, Collins said, should be viewed regardless of one's views on the war in Iraq itself.

"It's one more way for Jonathan to be recognized for what he did and the sacrifice he made," he said. "Whether you're against the war or not, that's not what this is about."