J.C. DYE

ARTIST / COWBOY / VETERAN


J.C. grew up on a ranch in Montana, with a single Dad, and was left mostly to his own devices. He was 19 when he signed up for the Marines. “I was just a dumb kid”, says J.C. 

Serving in numerous fire support bases during the Vietnam War – including at the infamous A Shau Valley, Con-Tien – J.C was eventually awarded the Combat and Vietnamese Cross of Gallantry medals of honor for bravery and service. Returning home at the age of 21, he began to grapple with the effects of what he’d experienced. “When you come home, life just starts over. I didn’t realize I had PTSD. We didn’t know what that was.” 

J.C picked up cowboying again, finding happiness on the back of a horse, and years later, creating art brought calm back to his life. He creates works in his Lander WY studio and gallery with a greater knowledge of the beauty and preciousness of the Western heritage he has lived. “The trauma of war affects the soldier, their family, and their entire country. Wars fought abroad are also fought at home with layers of emotions and violence. The injuries of war are shown in missing limbs and eyes. But war’s injuries also show up in the hearts of veterans who battle PTSD, and their families who deal with that trauma too”.