The Regimental Commander, 8 x 30.

1. This is a painting of Colonel Lee Sun Gil, commander of the First
Regiment of the Republic of Korea's "Capital" Division. It was a
custom of the Koreans to set up chairs under an awning atop a hill;
the staff would sip cherry pop as various officers would brief the
commander, and he would issue orders. Frequently the division or
corps commanders would visit, especially if enemy contact was heavy or
the action spectacular. One morning I asked my counterpart if it
might be more prudent to take cover, and he replied, "Oh, no! If any
member of the Staff gets wounded, the whole regiment would lose much
face!" I admired the courage and ability of these fine men.
2. And
from the Profiles film, he said:
It is unusual for me to paint a
painting that has as its subject a human being and a human being's
actions. Mostly I'm interested in landscape and the drama of nature
and the universe. But this is a human story and I was fascinated with
the gentleman in the painting, Colonel Lee Sun Gil. He's a Korean,
and the Korean idea of macho is to sit up on top of a hill and drink
cherry pop, acting as if there isn't a war going on. I asked them
when I was put on his staff whether or not we shouldn't get down into
a foxhole. It seemed logical. I was told that if anyone were hurt on
the regimental staff, the whole regiment would lose much face. This
is their value system; it's different from ours. The difference in
that painting is that it was done in trying to express the spirit, the
honor, the courage, and the actions of a man whom I admired, a man who
for us would be a very strange specimen.

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