KILLEEN, Texas — Ken Pridgeon promised to paint the portrait of every service member killed, so he or she can be honored, remembered and never forgotten.
He’s keeping that promise with his recent work of art: a portrait of Fort Hood pilot Officer 2 David Knadle.
Kandle was a gun pilot assigned to the 1st Cavalry Division. He and Officer 2 Kirk T. Fuchigami Jr., were killed on Nov. 20, when their Apache helicopter crashed during a mission in Afghanistan.
Pridgeon, 84, has been painting portraits of fallen Texas heroes killed in action while in Iraq and Afghanistan. He said each portrait he paints tells an intimate story. He said he talks to the fallen soldiers as the strokes of his brush memorialize the heroes.
"When you look in these guy's eyes, they look back at you. There's something there and I don't know what it is," Pridgeon told 6 News.
Pridgeon is a United States Air Force veteran and he has a motto he’s stayed committed to: "No Texas hero left behind."
Pridgeon said every service member on the walls of his gallery has a story and he'll gladly tell you about each one of them.
6 News reporter Bary Roy made a nearly 400-mile trip Sunday to make a very special delivery to Kandle’s widow: a hand-painted Pridgeon original.
On the canvas painted with the American flag, the head of an eagle and an Apache helicopter Kandle’s likeness and memory will live on forever.
“It’s beautiful. It’s really beautiful. It truly touches my heart,” Silkey Knadle said.
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