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UW Student Brings History To Life

Cassidy Newkirk

The Arizona Final Salute Foundation has commissioned a University of Wyoming student to create a painting of the USS Arizona for the 75th anniversary of its sinking at Pearl Harbor. Cassidy Newkirk received the commission last October 17, 100 years to the day after the USS Arizona itself was commissioned.

Since then, she’s been working to recreate a view of the sinking battleship from the perspective of a sailor on board. However, there are no historical photos from that perspective, so Newkirk had to get creative. “I’ve had to recreate everything, and then check it with historians and check it with survivors to make sure it’s right. So I’ve been working intensely on this research project since it started in October,” she said.

Those recreations include photos of a fellow student modeling as the men aboard the ship. “We’ve been recreating every man, every uniform, every situation that would have been on the Arizona,” said Newkirk. “So I have 3000 reference pictures of sailors and Marines, soot covered and wet. And we did nine hours of special effects makeup to get burn victims.”

After all the preparatory work, Newkirk began painting the four by eight foot canvas this summer, logging as many as 12 hours a day in the studio. The finished painting will be unveiled at Pearl Harbor on December 7, for a 75th anniversary ceremony honoring the six remaining survivors of the Arizona’s sinking.

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