A Life-Size Portrait in Honor of a Brother, Friend, and Fallen Paratrooper
 
Some people leave an impression on your life that time simply cannot erase. Kyle Thomas was one of those people.
 
Born in Topeka, Kansas, Kyle was far more than a soldier. He was an accomplished ballet dancer, a talented theater set designer, a craftsman, and a man of remarkable character. He danced professionally, earned a scholarship to the prestigious Rock School of Pennsylvania Ballet, and had a passion for woodworking, mechanics, and just about anything he could put his hands to.
 
But to those of us who knew him personally, Kyle was also a great friend, an avid whiskey drinker, and one hell of a human being. He was the kind of person whose company you genuinely enjoyed, someone who could make you laugh, challenge your thinking, and remind you that life was meant to be lived.
 
On September 25, 2003, at just 23 years old, Kyle was killed in Iraq when an improvised explosive device detonated during a patrol.
 
Twenty-three years old. An entire lifetime of possibilities ahead of him.
 
I painted him life-size because that's how I want people to remember him. Not as a name etched into stone or a photograph on a memorial wall, but as a man who once stood among us, full of life, talent, humor, and possibility.
 
SPC Kyle G. Thomas
September 25, 2003
2nd Battalion, 503rd Infantry Regiment
173rd Airborne Brigade
 
100% of the proceeds from the sale of this series of paintings are donated to the Gold Star Family Foundation in support of families who have lost a loved one in military service.