KISSIMMEE, Fla. -- What started as a college project is now a one-of-its-kind monument to honor the fallen, and it will soon be up for display in Kissimmee.
- Reynaldo Maldonado donated the veterans statue to American Legion
- Other Florida Technical College will do statues for the Legion
- The statues will go to Kissimmee Lake Front Park
"The very, very beginning I was like, oh, this is going to be a good piece to sell,” said Reynaldo Maldonado, the artist of the piece.
Maldonado comes from a family of military men, from his grandfather, to uncles and his father. He never thought he would get into it until he saw himself without much motivation and ambition. A friend had asked for a ride to the recruiting office and since then he hasn’t looked back.
"That's one thing the military actually did for me, it made me like myself as a person, and be proud of myself that I served,” said Maldonado.
After his work in the US Navy, Maldonado decided to go back to school and enrolled at Florida Technical College in their new welding program.
"I would watch these welding guys, you know, in there, and I was like 'all right, that's what I really want to do,'” he remembered.
For one of his projects, Maldonado decided to build a monument that would honor veterans. The piece took Maldonado 6 months to complete from head to toe.
At first he was hoping to take it to an art show, until his teachers gave him a better idea. That was to donate it to The American Legion at Kissimmee Lake Front Park.
"I really wanted it to be here because this is the park I go to all the time, I take my children here,” he said.
The Legion is celebrating its 100-year anniversary and couldn't be more honored to accept it. On Thursday morning, the Legion was filled with proud veterans as Maldonado presented his gift.
"I was overwhelmed when I first saw it, I had a lot of friends I lost in the Vietnam War,” said Post Commander Dan Bush.
“I want people to see the piece and just know that they're free, because there's people who actually gave their life for that,” Maldonado explained.
Maldonado’s piece won't be the only one donated to the veteran organization. The college is working on a partnership to have more students create other pieces for display.