3/8 Marine Turns Combat Illustrator
A portrait sketched by LCpl Rob Bates shows a scene from one of his deployments to Afghanistan. Bates, a rifleman by trade and now a combat illustrator, has recently had some of his artwork accessioned into the History Division with the Marine Corps Museum in Quantico, Va.
Photo courtesy of LCpl Rob Bates
LCpl Rob Bates draws a portrait during a concert in Dayton, Ohio. Bates, a rifleman by trade and now a combat illustrator, has recently had some of his artwork accessioned into the History Division with the Marine Corps Museum in Quantico, Va.
Photo courtesy of LCpl Rob Bates
Tired Eyes, a portrait sketched by LCpl Bates, shows a Marine with four tours to Iraq and Afghanistan, Sgt Wesley Laney, 3d Battalion, 6th Marine Regiment, 2d Marine Division, taking off his helmet after reentering friendly lines at the Jolan Police Station in Fallujah, Iraq. The eyes represent the strain inflicted upon a nation through years of fighting. Bates, a rifleman by trade and now a combat illustrator, has recently had some of his artwork accessioned into the History Division with the Marine Corps Museum in Quantico, Va.
Photo courtesy of LCpl Rob Bates
This sketch, created by LCpl Rob Bates shows Cpl Mat Bowman, a Marine with 3d Bn, 8th MAR, 2d MarDiv, at Bethesda, Md. while he conducts physical therapy exercises. Bates has recently had some of his artwork accessioned into the History Division with the Marine Corps Museum in Quantico, Va.
Photo courtesy of LCpl Rob Bates
This sketch, created by LCpl Rob Bates shows Sgt Than Naing, of Wounded Warrior Barracks-East pointing to where the round had struck his SAPI after going through his chest and out his back.
Photo courtesy of LCpl Rob Bates
By Cpl Ed Galo, 2d Marine Division
Marine Corps Base Camp Lejeune, N.C. — With less than a year left on his active duty contract, LCpl Rob Bates, a rifleman with 3d Battalion, Eighth Marine Regiment, 2d Marine Division, joined the small community within the Marine Corps known as Marine Corps combat artists.
Bates said he first heard about an opening by his supervisor earlier this year. He immediately got in touch with the History Division at the Marine Corps Museum in Quantico, Va., about the duty assignment.
“I figured this was my saving grace,” said Bates, who had been in trouble before but is using this current assignment to get back on track. “I needed to submit a career bio. I was honest about my record and getting in trouble.”
Bates got in touch with Mike Fay, a retired Marine who worked as a combat illustrator for the Marine Corps Museum for the last 10 years.
“He gave me a lot of good advice about my work,” said Bates. “He basically told me that I should develop my own style.”
Bates said that he tries to capture the humanity of the Marines and war in his portraits. Many of his portraits are of wounded warriors as he believes that no Marine’s story should go untold.
“My favorite portrait is ‘Tired Eyes'," he said. “The eyes represent the strain inflicted upon a nation through years of fighting.”
After the Marine Corps, Bates plans on continuing his education and one day becoming an art teacher.
Related Content
- Portraits From The Battlefield (Photo Gallery)
- Combat Artist Tells Corps’ Story Through Artwork (Photo Gallery)
- Combat Art Archive (Magazine Page)
- U.S. Marine Mike Corrado Raises Awareness For Wounded Warriors With Latest Single and Video, “Still In The Fight” (Magazine Page)
- Combat Art: Sgt Kristopher Battles, Pt. 1 (Photo Gallery)
Follow Us
Subscribe to Our Newsletter
Historic Leatherneck Magazine Covers
"We've Fought In Every Clime And Place": Stamping out the Caco Insurrection in the Republic d' Haiti.
"From Dawn To Setting Sun": Marine Occupation in Defense of Shanghai, March, 1927.
"Our Flag's Unfurled To Every Breeze": Punitive Expedition against Qhallah Battoo, February, 1832.
"We Are Proud To Claim The Title Of United States Marines"
"And To Keep Our Honor Clean": The fight to the finish at Bladensburg, August, 1814.
"First To Fight For Right And Freedom": The Marine expedition in Cuba in June, 1898.
"On The Land As On The Sea": The "Bon Homme Richard" encounters the "Serapis," September 23, 1779.
"We Fight Our Country's Battles": The fall of Fort Fisher, North Carolina, in 1865.
"On The Land As On The Sea": The "Bon Homme Richard" encounters the "Serapis," September 23, 1779.
"We Fight Our Country's Battles": The fall of Fort Fisher, North Carolina, in 1865.
"First To Fight For Right And Freedom": The Marine expedition in Cuba in June, 1898.
“To The Shores Of Tripoli”: Storming the fortifications at Derne, Tripoli, 1805.
"From The Halls Of Montezuma": The assault on Chapultepec Castle--Mexico City, 1847
Marine patrol fired on while fording the Coco River.
“To The Shores Of Tripoli”: Storming the fortifications at Derne, Tripoli, 1805.
"From The Halls Of Montezuma": The assault on Chapultepec Castle--Mexico City, 1847
Marine patrol fired on while fording the Coco River.
January 2002: The Marines engraved another mark in the rich history of the Corps when they came from more than 400 miles offshore to establish a forward operating base south of Kandahar in the war on terrorism. The Marine CH-46 helicopter on the cover, photographed by PH1(AW/SW) Greg Messier, USN, fought in the desert sand to land and resupply Marines such as the ones (inset) photographed by Sgt Joseph R. Chenelly.
January 2001: This firefight during the Frozen Chosin Reservoir Campaign of 1950 was painted by “Chosin Few” veteran Jack Cannon, who served with Company B, 1st Battalion, Seventh Marine Regiment and resides in the warmer climes of New Mexico. The cover was part of Leatherneck’s 50th anniversary salute to the Korean War veterans.
January 1992: This cover photograph of runners during Marine Corps Marathon XVI in Washington, D.C., was photographed by Sgt Deirdre Hallett.
Special Feature
Leatherneck Poll
Advertising
Recent comments
| koh tang battle, 3 marines left behind and forgotten. | 11 min 21 sec ago |
| Marine Family | 1 hour 31 min ago |
| mielno | 1 hour 54 min ago |
| Nam 68-69 | 2 hours 28 min ago |
| And a Mule just might win the Kentucky Derby | 5 hours 59 min ago |
| Hill 488 | 7 hours 21 min ago |
| I understand why people | 9 hours 55 min ago |
| Bad A song, going in on June | 10 hours 8 sec ago |
Professional Marine Discussions
A location for professional communication and informal dissemination of information within the Marine artillery community.
Debate the issues in this month's magazine.
Discuss your Marine Corps and the issues it faces.
Today in USMC History
1900 - Marines landed at Taku, China, to establish Legation Guard at Peking.
Related Article: The Marines In China By LtCol C. H. Metcalf Marine Corps Gazette (Sept 1938)
Comments
Amazing artwork! Thanks for
Amazing artwork! Thanks for sharing these personal experiences.
Post new comment