Artist puts faces on death toll

WASHINGTON — As Kaziah Hancock looked at photos outside a congressional office Wednesday showing soldiers killed in Iraq, she got out her glasses and examined the faces closely.

"Looks like I've got more to do," she said, realizing she didn't recognize any of them.

Hancock of Manti has painted 348 portraits of military members killed in the line of duty since the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks and does not plan to stop until she honors all those who have lost their lives.

"I have never regretted it for one second, even though I have come to realize it will consume my life," Hancock said in Washington Wednesday. "There is nothing I will ever paint that will ever mean more to a recipient."

It started as a simple project four years ago when she painted portraits to honor Utah soldiers killed in Iraq and Afghanistan, but now Hancock, who lives on a goat farm, finds herself speaking to a roomful of generals and has her hand-painted portraits displayed inside the United States Capitol.

The artist estimates the 18-inch by 24-inch paintings are worth $2,000 each, but the families of the subjects do not have to pay anything to receive them through "Project Compassion," a nonprofit organization she started three years ago to help her reach as many military families as possible.

The project is financed by the James R. Greenbaum Jr. Family Foundation and other donors. She has put up $35,000 of her own money to get the paintings done, she said.

Last November, a Minnesota television news station did a story on Hancock, focusing on a family that was going to receive one of the paintings. The segment, which was nominated for an Emmy award, started making the rounds via e-mail.

In June, a member of the Disabled Veterans of America forwarded it through his network of friends and, as the project's executive director Marie Woolf put it, "We have not had a free weekend or holiday since." Woolf is in the process of applying for a $3 million grant to keep the project going.

Hancock was in Washington in March to receive awards from the Veterans of Foreign Wars and the American Legion but has also done numerous television and newspaper interviews.

"They like my salty mouth," Hancock said.

The two women were in Washington this week to talk about the project at the Army Reserve Officers conference. Woolf pointed out that the audience included 25 generals and members of the Joint Chiefs of Staff.