Honoring Marine Veteran Robert (Bob) Williams--An Artist in Combat and in Communities

As the country acknowledges its veterans and thanks them for their extraordinary service, the following article highlights Gilbertsville veteran of the Vietnam conflict, fine artist Bob Williams. Readers and friends are encouraged to share stories of their service to our country. Contact editors Lesley Misko (expressioneditor1@gmail.com) or Jane Stahl (janeEstahl@comcast.net)

By Stacey Dexter*

Robert Williams has held both a Marine rifle and an artist’s sketchpad in his hands—often at the same time! This month and in January 2023, Boyertown is celebrating one man for two significant events: one is on Veterans Day, Nov. 11th, and the other will be in January 2023, for the 20th anniversary of the launch of the Bear Fever public art project.

Robert “Bob” Williams of Gilbertsville, PA, served as a Marine combat artist in the Vietnam War but is best known to the Boyertown area as one of the local artists who created and painted designs for (5) five of the colorful, themed bears that were launched in 2003 as part of the Bear Fever project and as the mural artist for (3) three murals in Boyertown.

From College Student to Marine Combat Artist
In 1968, Bob was an Illustration Major on the cusp of his first semester of junior year at the Philadelphia College of Art (now University of the Arts). As a young man full of curiosity about the Vietnam war, he felt compelled to enlist in the United States Marine Corp. His father, Louis J. Williams had enlisted in the Marines at age 17 in 1941 and was part of the esteemed unit to take the Solomon Islands from the Japanese in World War II, known as the Battle of Guadalcanal.

Bob left college in 1968 for basic training at two boot camps: Paris Island, in South Carolina and Camp Lejeune in North Carolina. However, after his initial training in the Carolinas he briefly returned to his college campus to seek out a few friends and professors.

Fortuitously, he ran into his professor, Isa Barnett, a renowned art illustrator in PA, who told him about the Marine Corps’ Combat Artist Program. Barnett had been an Army paratrooper in WWII who had also served as a combat artist. Motivated by this information, Bob swiftly put together a portfolio, submitted it, was accepted. He was then off to California for more intense training at Camp Pendleton, then to Da Nang, Vietnam, to serve as Combat Artist and Infantryman.

He was stationed at the base which housed the Combat Information Bureau, also known as the Da Nang Press Center, headquarters for news outlets and reporters worldwide. He was one of five combat artists manning the artists’ studio, stocked with art supplies, as well as film and camera equipment. But he wasn’t just there as an artist. He and fellow Marine artists were also responsible for the security of journalists and the press where they were stationed.

Securing his government-issued 45 caliber handgun to his hip, he would sometimes venture into the Da Nang to sketch scenes of the town, landscape, and Vietnamese people working and living there. Based on reported information and Marine intelligence, he would be flown by helicopter to be embedded with “hot spot” units in the field, 30-40 miles from home base. It was terrifying and dangerous work; Bob recalls being instructed to watch for trip wires and explosives, sometimes dodging bullets or diving into “fighting holes” for cover. In the midst of this, he would have his artists’ tools out, alternately responding as infantryman and artist sketching other Marines, firefights and Viet Cong suspects. He witnessed too many human tragedies that he’d rather not discuss.

Today, as an artist, however, Bob feels strongly that his skills improved exponentially during his time as a combat artist. Each month, he was required to send his work to Marine Headquarters in D.C. to be evaluated and reviewed for quality and content. His work was always approved and acknowledged by the Marine Corps for exceptional illustrations and paintings. All combat art is currently housed in the National Museum of the Marine Corps, Triangle, Virginia.

In July 1970, his duty in Vietnam tour complete, Bob returned to D.C. to finish the last six months of his military career as an illustrator for Leatherneck Magazine, the official publication of the Marines. In December of 1970, he was honorably discharged, and he returned to his hometown of Conshohocken, PA.

When I asked Bob to sum up his feelings about Vietnam, of what the experience of war may have taught him, of what it may have added or taken away from his life, he directed me to a quote of his from his website: “I met many curious, interesting and wonderful people in that year, both in the field and at the base. Of all the experiences I had in that one year, as a young man of 21, most of all, I remember the Vietnamese people I met—genuine, honest and honorable.” 

Civilian Life and Mural Artist
During the six-month duty in D.C., Bob attended a friend’s wedding in PA, where would meet his future wife Sandra. Enchanted, (and within six months), he married the love of his life. They settled into a new life together in Gilbertsville, PA where he and Sandra (a high school English teacher) would raise their two sons and he would begin to build his career as an artist. He painted landscapes of disappearing area farms, still lifes and occasional portraits through word of mouth or commissions. He opened an art and framing studio, giving art lessons to children and adults, exhibiting, and selling his work.

In 1974, Joe Dunleavy, an experienced contractor, referred Bob for interior restoration and statuary work for churches in the Philadelphia area. Some of the Greek Orthodox church work involved restoring and painting icons for iconostasis (a solid screen of stone, wood, or metal, usually separating the sanctuary from the nave).

His last church commission was a complete interior restoration for St. Matthews, a church in his hometown. The restoration involved repairing numerous statues and restoring and painting all of the fine details of every wall and ceiling. After this work was complete, (and unbeknownst to him), he was about to get a public proclamation acknowledging his artistic prowess.

On day, Bob came into Conshohocken to attend a funeral service at St. Matthews for his Uncle Patrick Skowronski. He sat quietly in the front row with a full house of family, friends and parishioners. After the priest delivered the eulogy, he graciously acknowledged the late Patrick’s nephew, Bob Williams, for his outstanding restoration work in the church. Many of the congregation were delighted to recognize his outstanding artistic skills and conveyed their deep appreciation for his talent. Bob tells me that this was the proudest moment of his restoration career.

Soon, an Italian restaurant in Allentown, PA, discovered Bob and commissioned him to create and paint a mural in the dining area. A smart cookie, he signed this mural, and his subsequent murals, with his name and phone number of his newly-formed business: Motion Graphics. This led to upwards of 70 restaurants employing him to create murals for them, too! His reputation spread, and he quickly expanded into residential work, creating original murals for homeowners.

An example of his private contract work includes a unique request from Brian Propp, then a professional hockey player for the Philadelphia Flyers. Propp saw his work in an Italian restaurant in New Jersey and contacted Bob, commissioning him to recreate the ancient cave art in Lascaux, located in Southern France, and Altamira in Northern Spain. Propp and his family adored this style of art and wanted some representation of it…on their nine-foot bathroom walls. This was an interesting assignment and a creative artistic achievement. Bob was never bored and loved a challenge.

Murals Celebrate Boyertown
Bob’s building-sized local artwork can be viewed throughout town. From bearfever.org: “Bob’s murals can be found in Boyertown along South Reading Avenue where he re-created Dave Larson’s painting “A Special Kind of Place.” 

Other murals can be found on the north wall of the State Theatre on the corner of North Reading Avenue and Fifth Street, where images from the history of Boyertown are featured, and inside Boyertown Multi-Service on Spring Street, where assorted medals awarded to service men and women are illustrated, based on another painting by Dave Larson.

Bear Fever
In 2003, he was now a well-established artist in the Boyertown/Gilbertsville area, was contacted by Jane and Paul Stahl. Jane, a Boyertown High School English teacher at the time, and now one of the founders of Studio B Fine Art Gallery, and Paul—along with members of the community and students in her classes—were spearheading a new project involving local artists, art students …and bears.

Since bears are the community mascot in Boyertown, a plan was developed to boost community involvement by asking local businesses, private citizens, and organizations to commission the creation and painting of unique, life-sized colorful bear sculptures. These bears would be placed all over the Boyertown and surrounding areas. Hence, “Bear Fever” was born.

Over 30 Bear Fever bears were unveiled in May of 2005. There are currently over 80 Bear Fever bears installed in and around the Boyertown area with a few venturing farther. The project will celebrate the 20th anniversary of its launch in 2023. Securing Bob’s talent for one in the initial collection and his willingness to continue his involvement with the project, eventually painting five bears, each a different sculpted “character” after the project’s debut, has been a gift to the community.

Bob’s Bears
There is “Earl,” a bear dressed in rural hiking gear with a Bob-inspired, pesky yellow bumblebee perched on the end of his nose. This bear was commissioned by the students and community of Boyertown Area School District’s Earl Elementary School.

“Chloe” is a bear commissioned by Gilbertsville resident and postmaster, Diane Reinwalt. “Chloe” sits on Ms. Reinwalt’s front porch dressed in a country-style pleated dress, as if waiting for school children. Her home had once been a school house.

“Spike” was commissioned by the owner of New Berlinville’s All Balls Better Bearings and Components as a Christmas gift for his beloved wife. A biker bear, Spike comes complete with a flashy mohawk, black sunglasses, and a well-placed fly stuck between his front teeth…another of Bob’s comical touches.

“Joe Bear” was created in memory of the late Pottstown native, Joe Lopuski. The former business Serenity Junction Wellness Center LLC sponsored “Joe Bear” and is owned by one of Lopuski’s daughters. Lopuski was an avid Harley Davidson rider and hot air balloon enthusiast, so Bob fashioned “Joe Bear” with a biker’s black leather jacket with a colorful hot air balloon on the back. Bob also affixed the phrase, “Dream On,” to a sleeve, capturing Lopuski’s zest for life and love of people.

And finally, there is “Paws,” a bear commissioned by the former National Penn Bank—now Truist Bank. “Paws” graces the Bally location. For this bear, Bob researched quilt patterns and themes at the Schwenkfelder Museum in Pennsburg and created a “crazy” and colorful quilted Pennsylvania German heritage design using acrylic paints. He also made sure to incorporate a tulip, the official symbol of the bank. Unfortunately, several years after installation, a truck rounded a corner, damaging “Paws.” Bob was commissioned to repair the bear; in doing so, he painted a Band-Aid over the damage, adding to his whimsical creation with humorous flair.

The life-sized fiberglass bears still stand today; another 50+ have been added since their debut, and others are added each year serving as a solid and reliable reminder of the strength in community for all of Boyertown and its visitors to enjoy.

The Artist and Veteran Today
Bob and wife Sandra live in Gilbertsville, PA, and have a modest condo in one of the oldest art colonies in the world, in Rockport, MA. Bob’s love of landscapes marries perfectly with the seascapes of Atlantic Ocean, and the four glorious seasons of the Northeast. He still exhibits his work in PA at Studio B, and in MA as a member of the North Shore Art Association and the Rocky Neck Art Colony, both in Gloucester, MA. He is a contributing member of the Rockport Art Association, Rockport. His work is in private collections in Montreal, Pennsylvania, New Jersey, New York, Maine, Massachusetts, Arizona, and Florida.

Though Parkinson’s disease has challenged him, (likely brought on by his exposure to Agent Orange during his service in Vietnam), he continues to paint, having taught himself to use his left hand when tremors in his right hand shake the brush a little too much. Even so, his artwork remains at an incredibly elevated level, and he continues to create beautiful works of art.

Bob Williams has had a remarkable life full of twists and turns, love and loss, health challenges and personal triumphs—all while holding his artist’s brush in hand. His community and his nation remain grateful to him (and all veterans) for his service and look forward to forthcoming works that are sure to touch all who are fortunate enough to view them.

You can enjoy and/or purchase Bob’s art on his website at http://robertlouiswilliams.com/

For more information about the Bear Fever Project, go to http://www.bearfever.org/

Studio B can be reached at https://www.studiobbb.org/

* Stacey Dexter is a nonfiction writer, musician, singer/songwriter, and animal lover. She currently lives with her adopted dog, Wookie, in the Southwest.”

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