PROJECT: 2016 HERO[series]
LOCATION: Detroit, Michigan
VETERAN: Michael Roberts
BRANCH: U.S. Marines
DESIGNER: James Naugle
VIDEO: Josh Beebe, Ray Rushing
PORTRAITS: Cody Ross
VENUE: Swords Into Plowshares
PARTNERS: AIGA Detroit, Detroit Boots, Quicken Loans
Military families endure some of the toughest challenges possible; not only during deployments, but sometimes even more so after they return home. Battling mental illness, Michael and his wife Myra struggled at first to rejoin their lives together.
Within his design, the drum sticks and music notes represent the impact music has made on their family and how it brought them all together again, while the heart symbolizes his wife’s belief that, “Love is the main ingredient needed to heal the invisible wounds of the heart, soul and mind.” His design is an encouragement for individuals, families, and communities to come together in love, patience, and empathy to help overcome their differences in order to live in harmony and “Beat As One.”