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Ray “Bubba” Sorensen completed the 26th painting of the original Freedom Rock north of Greenfield recently. In honor of Memorial Day, Sorensen repaints this 12-foot tall, approximately 60-90-ton boulder to pay tribute to the United States’ military men and women.
With parts of the town of Greenfield and Adair County reeling in tornado devastation, Sorensen, who serves as a State Representative, was on the ground helping to facilitate donations and cleanup efforts during the day and trying to find time to work on the Freedom Rock in the evenings and nights.
Started the second week of May, Sorensen aimed, as usual, to have the Freedom Rock completed by Memorial Day.
The road-facing side of the original Freedom Rock aims to be a broad “thank you” to veterans, but especially those who have paid the ultimate sacrifice. There is a Revolutionary War soldier and current service member alongside a perched eagle with a ribbon in its mouth that reads, “When you go home, tell them of us and say for your tomorrow we gave our today.” It also has a mourning widow standing amongst poppies.
The south side of the rock pays tribute to those service members battling post traumatic stress disorder and shows a veteran sitting in a cemetery and staring at the grave of his brother-in-arms, as he remembers the chaos of battle. A quote on this side of the rock reads, “No bullet, no shell, no demon in hell shall break the bond called Brother.”
The east side of the rock shows an illustration of Lafayette G. Pool, a World War II veteran nicknamed “War Daddy” who was a tank crew and tank platoon commander widely-recognized as the U.S. tank ace of aces. On the northeast side, with the Huey helicopter that contains the cremains of over 150 Vietnam veterans, is Paris D. Davis. Davis is a retired Army officer who received the Medal of Honor on March 3, 2023 for his actions on June 18, 1965 during the Vietnam War. This was the third time he had been nominated for a Medal of Honor, but his paperwork for previous nominations disappeared. Davis, then a captain in the 5th Special Forces Group, was instead awarded the Silver Star. He commanded the 10th Special Forces Group.
The top portion of the north-facing side of the Freedom Rock is Sorensen’s version of the POW/MIA flag. It features a prisoner gripping the barbed wire while being grabbed by a prison guard. The “Lion of Fallujah,” Douglas A. Zembiec, referred to as the “Unapologetic Warrior,” was an officer in the Marine Corps and a member of the CIA who was killed in action while serving in Operation Iraqi Freedom. He is best known for his actions during Operation Vigilant Resolve.
Sorensen is not commissioned for his work on the original Freedom Rock, but works as an independent mural artist having completed the Iowa Freedom Rock Tour last September. Sorensen is working on the 50-State Freedom Rock Tour.
“I always say I have three goals with ‘The Freedom Rock Tour’ and that is to honor America’s Veterans, promote tourism and provide for my family,” Sorensen said.
Sorensen’s oldest two children, Indie and Michael, enjoy helping him in the early stages of many Freedom Rocks, including the original, filling in sketched areas at his discretion, and his littlest, Libby, has even scribbled a bit of paint on as well.
For a list of the Tour and other info, please visit www.thefreedomrock.com.