SIDE BY SIDE unveiled at the British Embassy in Washington, D.C.

October 15, 2008

SIDE BY SIDE unveiled at the British Embassy in Washington, D.C. (10/9/2008)

(exerpt from The Washington Times, October 15, 2008)

British Ambassador Nigel Sheinwald praised the close cooperation between British and U.S. troops as he unveiled a painting dedicated to the "military links between our two nations."

"I want to thank the U.S. armed forces for the work that they do alongside our armed forces services, both institutionally in terms of the military links between our two nations, and on a personal level for the friendship and help that is shown to us all every day by our colleagues and neighbors in the American military," he said at the British Embassy ceremony last week.

                                      

Photo courtesy British Embassy Shown with the “Side by Side” painting are (from left) artist Dean Baer; Frank Lasch, chairman of Azalea Charities; Brigadier Phil Jones, military attache at the British Embassy, and Ambassador Nigel Sheinwald.

The highly stylized painting of two soldiers, one draped in the Stars and Stripes and the other in the Union Jack, is the work of Dean Baer, an artist from Prince William County, Va., on behalf of the Azalea Charities, headquartered in the Northern Virginia county, and the British Army Benevolent Fund America. Both charities help wounded soldiers.

Frank Lasch, chairman of the Azalea Charities, said, "I hope everyone ... will recognize this painting as a symbol of our appreciation to Great Britain and its troops for standing with us in the fight against terrorism."