Author: Eric Donath

We’re excited to share some major updates on Volume 5 of Bullets and Bandaids — and invite you to an unforgettable evening this June!

Volume 5 Project Progress

Our mission to tell stories of healing through art continues at full speed:

• 48 interviews completed
• 22 more in progress
• We’re aiming for 35–45 final stories in this volume, with several being carried over to Volume 6.

Featured Voices in Volume 5

This edition includes a powerful mix of perspectives from across time, space, and service:

• A Marine Corps–Pentagon liaison
• A nuclear bomb survivor
• Green Berets
• The Chief of the Waccamaw tribe
• The son of a Tuskegee Airman
• A direct descendant of a samurai
• Ukraine’s Deputy Chief of General Staff
• …and many more extraordinary individuals

So far, 30 stories have been written, with matching artworks in progress. We’re proud to have 30 artists already contributing — and counting.

Reach: Over 60,000 people have seen Bullets and Bandaids content so far — and the momentum keeps growing.

You’re Invited: Volume 5 Celebration Event

Bullets and Bandaids presents: Art and Service, our inaugural fundraiser. Celebrate Independence Day and help us bridge the gap between veterans and civilians through an immersive, collaborative are experience spanning generations.

The event is June 29th, 6-9pm, at the Columbia Museum of Art. There will be food and drinks available (drinks for purchase), plus a private exhibition of selected works from the Bullets and Bandaids collection. We are still gathering support for catering, entertainment, and auction items – including original art and exclusive prints. Admission is $25 or free for all past and present Bullets and Bandaids participants.

Support the Mission

This project is made possible by people like you. If these stories resonate with you, help us bring them to life — and to the world.

Donate today to support the June event and future volumes. Every dollar helps us honor these stories through art, exhibition, and connection.

97% of your donations directly fund the creation and sharing of transformative art and stories through the Bullets and Bandaids program, connecting veterans and communities through healing storytelling. 

Thank you for being part of this journey. Together, we’re building bridges through story and healing through art!

Stay Updated: Keep an eye out for exciting news about upcoming exhibits for this summer and beyond. We’ll be announcing details for exhibits through 2025 in the coming weeks, so be sure to stay tuned!

Thank you for being an integral part of the Bullets and Bandaids community. Together, we are making strides in tearing down social barriers and promoting healing through the power of storytelling, art, and now music.

Warm regards,
Robert LeHeup
Executive Director

2024 was a monumental year for Bullets and Bandaids that saw our mission expand and our audiences grow. Through our exhibitions at the Ringling College of Art and Design, as well as our recent exhibition at the Richland County Library (Columbia, SC), we have grown the number of our attendees to roughly 60,000 people, providing a platform for healing dialogue between veterans and civilians that is both groundbreaking and truly immeasurable. We will continue touring with our present collection and will let everyone know when and where we will be as we move forward.

With a grant from the SC Humanities, we also started our discussion panel series, “Bullet Points,” where we interview past participants about not just the impact of their collaborative efforts, but what inspired them, as well as where they plan to be in the future. This series will continue throughout 2025, allowing us to showcase our past participants and give acknowledgements to those working on our current program.

Having finished almost 60 interviews for our upcoming volumes, some of our subjects include:

• 5 Native American tribes, including an interview with The Chief of the Waccamaw
• Modern POWs
• Tuskegee Airmen
• Delta Force
• The Deputy Chief of the General Staff of Ukraine
• Drones
• Nuclear bomb testing (including one that was only recent declassified)
• The relationship between military brats and their parents
• A direct descendant of samurai
• Service dogs
• Private security organizations
• and the list goes on.

The literary and artistic aspects of our current program also include:

• Two poet laureates
• Music, including jazz, blues, and rock and roll
• Slam poetry
• Jewelry
• Art Fields winners
• A trauma-savant
• Several forms of sculpture
• Roughly 20 countries represented (out of the roughly 180 participants)
• with more to come.

In the coming year, we plan to produce more art, more stories, and more opportunities for engagement between veterans and civilians. One goal is to add a layer of interactivity to our exhibitions, allowing visitors to directly message our veterans, artists, and writers. We will be creating more volunteer opportunities, more opportunities for patronage, memberships that give you direct access to our collection, and sponsorships that not only pay the artists, but allow us to continue touring with the original work.

Through these efforts, and with your help, we will continue to give veterans a platform to speak their truth and guarantee that truth is heard. Through this, we have people from across generations, demographics, and geography eagerly investing in one another, and by doing so, we create the sort of healing dialogue that is both wildly effective and desperately needed.