“Vanquishing The Invisible”
An Independent Portrait Project by James R Morrison and J Mara Morrison
Vanquishing The Invisible will be displayed at the California State Fair during Military and
Veteran Appreciation Day, July 18th continuing on July 19th in the Fine Arts Building 7.
Thank you for your interest in “Vanquishing the Invisible”. From the beginning, you recognized the value and importance of bringing these portraits and stories to the public. We truly appreciate your support and we look forward to seeing you at a future event.
Lindsey Sin
U.S. Navy
My military service made me an active participant in history and a witness to world events. When I think of that decade of my late teens and early twenties, I do so in the context of my military service: where I was stationed when this event happened or to where I was deployed when that event happened. That’s an experience that not many people can claim.
Immediately after boot camp, I experienced this connection to history, to the world, and to others that the military would create for me. I returned home for a brief vacation between boot camp and language school, and my parents threw me a party and invited family, friends, and neighbors. At one point, I joined several relatives and neighbors around a large table in my parents’ backyard. All of them had served in the armed forces. My grandfathers served in World War II, my uncle served during Vietnam, and our family friends and neighbors had served as well. As we shared hilarious and often humiliating stories about boot camp and training, I felt so lucky to be included among these people that I so admired and loved. It was also not lost on me that I was the only woman among them.
For the most part, I enjoyed my time in the Navy. My rating was a Cryptologic Technician Interpretive or CTI. I studied and learned Arabic at the Defense Foreign Language Institute in Monterey, California. After a few schools in between, I had the great fortune to spend almost six years stationed in Rota, Spain in an aircrew billet flying on board the EP-3E Aries II reconnaissance aircraft. In the Navy, I met some of the smartest and funniest people in my life.
I shipped out for boot camp almost twenty years ago and my decision to enlist has come full circle. Now I serve as the Deputy Secretary for Women Veterans Affairs and am honored to advocate for Women Veterans of the state of California. This too has been a great adventure, and I’ve had the incredible fortune to meet men and women who accomplished incredible feats of bravery, intelligence, and sacrifice during their military service.
We received the highest praise on the surveys and in personal comments affirming this project touches viewers in a deep and profound way. Their use of words like, “powerful”, “enlightening”, “passionate”, “thought-provoking”, and (we really liked this one) “take it national” reinforces our belief in this critically important exhibit.
However, “Vanquishing the Invisible” cannot continue - or grow - its outreach without your support. We would be honored if you would take a moment to help fund this project.
There’s so much more we can accomplish if we do it together. Your support will help others attend future exhibits and continue the outreach to new audiences.
If you would like to honor Women Veterans and help educate future generations on the legacy of women in the military, please DONATE
“Women Veterans are often assumed to be spouses of a veteran. We are on a mission to change that assumption. Working together, we can not only change perceptions but bring to light the vast achievements and contributions our women veterans make every day. Impacting a woman veteran’s life not only positively changes her life, but also her family’s and the community in which she lives.” Melissa Washington, Founder of Women Veterans Alliance
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