FEATURES
Ray Sorensen: Freedom Rock
By Jewel Taylor
The 700 Club
Original Air Date: November 11, 2010
CBN.com
– Ray Sorensen, known to the locals of Greenfield, Iowa, as “Bubba” had no idea what a little paint, a lot of patriotism and his artistic talent could accomplish. After he saw the movie Saving Private Ryan, he decided to use the town’s local graffiti rock as a canvas to thank veterans.
“The first very first time I painted it in 1999, I thought, that’s my graffiti. That’s my one time. I did it. That’s it. Move on. But the veterans liked it so much that they said, ‘Hey, can you do that again?’ I’m going to take a step further and paint something completely different.”
Over the years, Bubba has used his talent to thank every branch of the military and numerous individuals. He’s also memorialized countless battles and wars from our country’s past.
“They’ve taken the time for us, for Americans, for the rest of the world really to preserve our freedom, preserve our liberty, preserve our way of life. It’s the least I can do.”
In 2006, several Vietnam veterans wanted to scatter the ashes of fellow veterans and friends at the site.
“I said, ‘It’s so windy your ashes are going to blow away in the wind, so dump them in my green paint here. I’ll paint them on and they’ll be on the rock forever.’ They loved that idea. Seven veterans got dumped in at that time. Since then, over the years, I’ve changed the two helicopters into one big one, because I added more ashes. Now we are up to 20 different Vietnam veterans’ ashes are painted into the side of the rock.”
Most people don’t believe the rumored paintings on the 60 to 90 ton rock off Iowa’s highway 25 are even true.
“When they find out it's real, they want the story. A lot of people don’t understand why I paint over it. I paint over it just to keep it fresh and new and to keep people coming back.”
Even though Ray and his wife, Maria, own their own art and photography studio, the freedom rock, is a ministry in itself.
“There are veterans that have come in that haven’t even talked to their families. They feel like they can talk to me, share their stories, and share their struggles and what they went through over there.
“I’ve always said I’ll go as long as I can afford it and with the help of great community and a great country, everybody behind me. It’s nice to know I should be able to keep doing it for as long as I can."
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