Faces of the Fallen
Faces of the Fallen was an exhibit of 1327 portraits depicting service men and women who died in the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. It filled the Women in Military Service for America Memorial, located at the gateway to Arlington National Cemetery, from March 2005 – June 2007. Although conceived and organized by Annette Polan, over 250 artists from around the country created the 6”x8” portraits in every conceivable medium.
Faces of the Fallen brought Americans together to mourn and to celebrate lives lost. Artists gave each statistic an identity and a face that will always be remembered by a family, by a school, by a community, and in turn, by a country. This is this is what we look like; this is who we are. Faces of the Fallen transformed the way others abroad thought of us. It told the great American story.
At the close of the exhibition, the portraits were shipped to the families of the Fallen. Through the invitation of Gen. Peter Pace, Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, 300 of the portraits reside permanently outside of the Hall of Heroes in the Pentagon.
