Robert Morss

Military Service: 3 combat deployments as an Army Ranger, 2nd Ranger Battalion, 2011 - 2015 

Secondary Education: B.S., Penn State University – Dec 2020 

Profession: High school history teacher, Jan – June 11, 2021

Current Status: Political Prisoner, June 11, 2021

A chance encounter led to something changing the lives of many, and led to the reason why someone is reading my bio today. I was working in Office of Veteran’s programs the day Shelly visited, and I was eavesdropping on a conversation that she was having. I made a statement that I couldn’t back up or verify, but volunteered nonetheless. I was going to paint a mural, which is something I’ve never done, for someone I didn’t know. 

I’ve reflected on that day many times, and would never change anything about it. It led to so many memories and adventures and a project that would inspire many to come.

I had a rough idea of the mural I wanted to design and create but it wasn’t until I saw the blank wall in the Petersburg Legion that the 10-panel mural came alive in my mind.

There was one moment when the mural was about 80 percent finished and the entire crew of magnificent painters were all working simultaneously and passionately on their own part of the mural. I took a moment to sit back and observe. What I saw upon my initial entry into the social room of the legion was now brought into existence from my imagination. As an artist, that was an amazing experience – to see the very project I had imagined come to life before my eyes! I couldn’t have done it without my incredible help, and without them, I never would have been able to finish before the August 1st deadline. It was just another indicator that this mural, those images, and all the people involved, were meant to be.

The goal of the mural is to remind the viewers that, not only did very brave men and women sacrifice all they had to make history and keep our country free, but we must remember. We must remember their sacrifice, their war stories, their reasons why, and we must teach others that you too can also contribute to our nation’s history. I challenge you to be in the next panel, to not only teach history but help make it. Leave your mark in history like we left a mark on these walls.