Winning design selected in the 2020 Veterans Day Poster Contest

After receiving more than 100 entries for the 2020 Veterans Day Poster Contest, the Veterans Day National Committee selected a winning design.

The designer, Casey Brown, is a Marine Corps Veteran who served in the infantry and was deployed to Iraq. He has volunteered at the Salt Lake City VA Medical Center and was hired by the Salt Lake City Fiduciary Hub as part of the Veterans Benefits Administration.

“I feel honored and respectful of the fact that I am representing my fellow Veterans and brothers and sister in arms. It is my hope to express in art what most of us feel,” said Brown.

After a former manager notified Brown of the poster competition, he was encouraged to give it a shot.

“From there a seed grew into a thought and the thought into an idea,” Brown said. “When I get an idea in my head I cannot rest until it comes out.”

His idea turned into the winning design. The poster features silhouettes of Veterans helping each other climb a mountain, with supporters of the community cheering them on.

“I wanted to express the beauty and rigidness of the camaraderie in military service,” he said. “I would like others to see the life cycle of a Veteran. When we are young, we see others serving and have a hope for living up to the legacy made by the Veterans in our lives. That desire to serve grows. We opt to give our time and talents to the service of our country; it can be a struggle and sacrifice at times. We help others along the way, we ask for help from time to time. We turn back around and help those next in line. Then at the end, we get to look back and ask ourselves if we left this country better than we found it; if we chose others’ lives over our own.”

Description of his award-winning design

The black color of the silhouettes represents the stoic and enduring nature of Veteran service. The contrast between the bright background and the dark images represent the sharp contrast that most Veterans experience between military life and civilian life. The sharp contrast fits this year’s 2020 theme Vision: Veterans in Focus.

The beautiful sky represents the serenity that Veterans seek in pining for peace, in drowning the echoes of war.

Overall, the cliff, Veterans and children represent the legacy of Veterans. The children represent future Veterans. Those struggling on the hill represent incoming and current Veterans. Those at the top of the hill represent the older generation looking after the others. You will notice that some Veterans on the hill are turning back to assist others. This represents the mindset of always looking back to help other generations, leaving a legacy better than they found it. If you ever walk into a VA Medical Center, Veterans are always welcoming and helping in a variety of ways.

The mountain represents experience; the climbers appear to climb for the better view atop the mountain.

About the Veterans Day Poster Contest

Each year the Veterans Day National Committee publishes a commemorative Veterans Day poster. The Committee selects a poster from artwork submitted by artists nationwide and distributes the winning design to VA facilities, military installations around the world, and across cities and towns in our nation. The poster serves as the cover of the official program for the Veterans Day Observance at Arlington National Cemetery. Click here for more information about the Veterans Day National Committee.