GREENSBORO, N.C. — We often hear from veterans on Memorial Day, but it is the fallen service members they fought with that we're remembering.
For some, Memorial Day is a long holiday weekend with family, but for veterans like Jessica Rambo, it's a time to remember their brothers and sisters who fought alongside them and ended up paying the ultimate sacrifice.
Rambo said her main focus is keeping the veterans that are still here, alive.
As a combat marine cameraman veteran herself, Rambo travels the country with her children helping veterans. The Painted Buffalo Traveling Studio is a nonprofit Veteran Artist founded and operated traveling art studio.
“We drive around the country meeting up with countless, I've met up with hundreds, if not thousands of veterans across the country, and I'm just spreading my message of surviving, but not only surviving but thriving in your life afterward, and you are somebody outside of the uniform. And my way of doing that is art and art therapy, and telling your stories through art,” Rambo explains.
For three years now, Jessica and her family have done this, helping others along the way. Rambo was medically separated from the marine corps in 2016 after a traumatic brain injury.
“I was extremely mentally ill and really sick and on the way out. I was definitely, you know, struggling. And I was going through art school, and bought a school bus during that time, and started converting it, and myself into this new chapter of life. And so that was four years ago. I've now built my second home and continued what I called the Paint Can Project.”
Rambo has a goal to collect and build out 100 ammo cans full of art supplies to pass out to veterans. Rambo said this is so veterans can express themselves through art.
So far, Rambo and her family have been to 37 states, helping as many people along the way as they can. Their hope is to add a few more as they make their way from North Carolina to Alaska during The Paint Can Project.