Oil painting depicting life-saving crew presented to 433rd Airlift Wing

by Tech. Sgt. Carlos J. Trevino
433rd Airlift Wing Public Affairs

9/8/2014 - JOINT BASE SAN ANTONIO-LACKLAND, Texas -- A copy of an oil painting depicting two Air Force Reservists onboard medical evacuation flight "Bandage 33" saving the life of an Air Force Combat Controller was recently presented to the 433rd Airlift Wing.

Capt. Adriana Valadez and then Senior Airman Amanda Torres of the 433rd Aeromedical Squadron, Joint Base San Antonio-Lackland, Texas were deployed to Afghanistan with the 651st Expeditionary Aeromedical Evacuation Squadron at Kandahar Airfield, Afghanistan, when the life-saving actions took place.

"It was an honor. It is a reminder for all of us of why we do what we do. Capt. Valadez made all the right calls. She is a great role model," said Torres, now a staff sergeant.

 The painting, by Maj. Warren Neary, an Air Force Space Command Individual Mobilization Augmentee historian, commissioned by the Air Force Reserve Command's history office, was presented to the 433rd Aeromedical Evacuation Squadron by Tech. Sgt. Kim Herrera, 433rd Airlift Wing historian.

According to Herrera, the original portrait hangs in the Office of the Chief of the Air Force Reserve at the Pentagon. Additional copies hang at Headquarters AFRC, at Robins Air Force Base, Georgia.

"Most of the big works are kept in collections like Headquarters Air Force Reserve Command," said Herrera. "For us, it is an honor to have a copy here at the wing. It is something that we are not always able to see."

The portrait will be on display in the 433 AES building.