Stellantis employee honors veterans with painting at Kokomo Engine Plant
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The main entrance to Stellantis’ Kokomo Engine Plant resembled a blank slate. White walls leading to a remarkably clean and bright shop floor; a far cry from the factories a generation ago. But the company wanted to make a statement. It wanted the entry to reflect the spirit of the people working there.
A contest was held to select a painter from among the employees, and the prize was a chance to paint a mural depicting the rugged, off-road spirit of the Jeeps containing Kokomo-manufactured components. Assembly worker Michael Moore was selected for the project, and before long a bright red Jeep Wrangler was prowling over rocky terrain on the east wall of the entry hall.
But there was still a lot of unoccupied wall and a desire to do something more. According to Alison Littrell, business planner for the Kokomo Engine Plant, she and a collection of employees who were military veterans began brainstorming about the creation of a veterans wall.
“We just started pitching ideas of what the veterans wall could look like and what they wanted it to be,” said Littrell. “I said, ‘This is your wall. What do you want it to be?’ We came up with a few ideas, and Mike was working on the (Jeep) mural. They all came back and asked if they could have Mike do it.”
Littrell approached Moore about the second mural, and he jumped at the chance. He came up with a vision: a tribute to a friend who had served in the Army in the Middle East. But as he began working, the mural took on a life of its own.
“Since this is our only entrance and exit to the plant, he got a lot of face time with people who are coming and going,” said Littrell, pointing out that nearly seven percent of Stellantis workers in Kokomo are military veterans. “He got a lot of input from our veterans as they walked by.”
Before he realized it, Moore’s work became a collective endeavor. Fellow line workers stopped to share memories and give suggestions.
“It just kind of built from talking to other veterans,” said Moore. “The guys out here gave me ideas of what they had saw. So, the mural became multiple small paintings for almost every person who had walked through.”
Every branch of the military is represented in the mural, including the newly formed Space Force. Fighter jets, helicopters, K9 soldiers, submarines, paratroopers, an aircraft carrier. Moore made room for them all. There are so many stories depicted that Moore cannot choose an image among them that means more to him.
“I don't really have one favorite thing because everything came from the stories I heard from talking to all these guys,” said Moore. “There can't really be one specific thing that I truly love more than another.”
There are scenes depicted on the mural that mean a lot to Jeff Mallaber. As one of the veterans originally tapped to develop the concept for the art, a part of him is in the work.
“Every image up there is somebody's story, and the aircraft carrier is mine,” said Mallaber. “I told Mike I served on an aircraft carrier, the USS Forestal. I was an ordnance builder on the first super carrier ever built. Seeing it just brings back a lot of fond memories for me.
“We have another guy who served on the USS Savannah, which is a supply ship. The painting brings back all those memories for him. And there are easter eggs in the mural; little, hidden things that people can find.”
Littrell expanded on the easter eggs, explaining that all of Stellantis’ contributions to the military are depicted somewhere in the painting, such as the Jeeps used in World War II. And the mascots from each service branch are hidden in plain view, waiting for discovery.
And then there is the capstone for the project. Mallaber contributed a U.S. flag that once flew over Camp Cathcart in Mazar-E-Sharif, Afghanistan, during the Operation Freedom Sentinel, a gift from the son of one of Mallber’s friends who serves in a special operations group.
“I just held on to it, knowing maybe someday it was gonna be used for something,” said Mallaber. “I found it quite appropriate for this wall.”