The setting of the artwork is at the Vietnam Memorial. It shows an older man with his hand pressed onto the Memorial wall and with his head down appears to be crying or in a state of great sadness and grief. On the other side it shows the spirit of several soldiers possibly who died in combat reaching out from the wall and touching the hand of the man on the other side in what looks to be an attempt to console his grief. It is unknown whether or not the man was a vietnam veteran or if he is the relative of someone who had been killed in action during the war and this is his relative, possibly his father or brother reaching out.
The direct touching of the hand with the soldiers reflection could dictate that the man and the soldier are the same person and the others around him could be the brothers in arms that he had served with that possibly were killed in action. This is honestly one of the most powerful painting I have ever seen. I remember seeing this painting at a store when I was younger and still remember it to this day. Every time I look at it, I am waiting for the man in the picture to just look up and see the faces in the wall looking back at him. While the mystery of who the man is will remain a mystery the main focus I think the artist was trying to make was that in times of war, it really is about the man next to you, and how people you may have never met before become your brothers-in-arms and will always be with you no matter what.
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