Lynne Kelsey
It started with a promise. A deathbed promise to her father—the most solemn vow a daughter could ever make.
In the last years of his life, esteemed artist and Iwo Jima survivor Marine Colonel Charles Waterhouse set out to create the most comprehensive series of Medal of Honor paintings ever made by a single artist. He saw it as his last, and most historically important, gift to the Marine Corps and to the nation. Though he worked feverishly at his mission, managing to complete 225 canvases and 107 recipient portraits, the time came that he could no longer walk to his easel. It was then that his daughter, author Jane Waterhouse, made him a promise: she would complete the mission. On Friday, Oct. 30, she will share the story of her five-year effort to see that promise fulfilled by the publication in 2020 of Valor in Action: The Medal of Honor Paintings of Colonel Charles Waterhouse at the Conservative Women of Action’s Fall Luncheon. One lucky attendee will go home with a special door prize: a signed copy of this incredible volume.
A novelist and author of the Garner Quinn mysteries, Jane Waterhouse goes beyond the bare facts to plumb the human heart of the stories of the Medal of Honor winners. She is a storyteller blessed with her father’s talent to paint pictures, not with brushes and oils, but with words. For any woman who reveres the contributions of our military heroes, this will be a program not to miss.
The luncheon will be held in the Legacy/Patriot rooms and will feature a buffet of herb crusted pork tenderloin with red wine demi, green beans almondine, mashed potatoes, and spice cake. Tickets are $30; sales begin in the Clubhouse on Sept. 21 from 9 to 11:00 a.m. Seating is limited, so purchase your tickets early!