Painting the "town" blue. 

On your way back towards housing from Emon beach you may have noticed an add-on to the Kwajalein Jr/Sr High School building. A Spartan helmet like no other, symbolism flowing through the warrior helmet like the currents that flow through the Marshall Islands. It is an impressive sight, and I wondered who had painted the new “Ruainene Tok Non” (welcome to) sign. Then on my way down Ocean View, headed to work, I saw her…..brush in hand, in the soft morning sunlight at it again, this time on the George Seitz Elementary school (GSES). I pulled a hard right turn to meet the artist responsible for these magnificent murals.

Oanh P. Letter is her name, an assistant teacher/librarian working at the Kwajalein Jr./Sr. High School is here on Kwajalein Atoll with her husband Luke Letter, an engineer with MIT. The two have been on Kwajalein for three years. “It has been such a great home for us, and such a great community. I feel so lucky to be here every day.” Oanh stated about their time here on Kwajalein.

I asked how the project for the Murals came to light and Oanh told me “A bit over a year ago, Dr. Gerber, the principal of the HS asked me if I could design a new logo for the HS as the old logo we used ran into copy right problem. It was something that came from a place of inspiration based on an old Spartan design. I took the liberty to add some Marshallese motifs and symbols unique to culture of the people here. I’d like to capture as many symbols as I could in each logo.”

And wow has she amazingly intertwined the Marshallese culture through the paintings.  “On the Spartan logo, you could clearly see the stick chart on the face, the outriggers, the shark fins (for Shark sanctuary), the 24 triangles representing the 24 districts of the RMI, the plumeria, the shape of the RMI on the nose, the 13 stars for the original 13 states of the US, the sun rays behinds the clouds, the small shape of Kwajalein at the very end. 

The mascot of the GSES is the dolphin blue and white. Since it’s a part of the Kwajalein school system, I’d like to design the dolphin with similar symbols like the new Spartan logo. You could see the small map of Kwajalein with the plumeria, triangles on the body of the dolphin, stick charts on the fins, and the flag of the RMI on the face of the dolphin”.

I was very surprised when Oanh told me “Actually, the high school mural was my first attempt, and the George Seitz mural was my 2nd one”. Grant it she has been painting for around 13 years stating “I started my first painting 13 years ago after I happened to see Bob Ross on TV. I remember he said anyone could paint. I felt very inspired and decided that I wanted to paint. I usually do landscapes, but I also painted a couple of portrait paintings of my children. 

Oanh told me that what she likes best about the paintings is “Kwaj is a special place for me, and I’ve loved being a part of the school community. I have a special relationship with the kids and people here. In life, I think the best we can all hope for is to do something we love doing and have the people we care about impacted in a positive way. I will always feel that pride when I see the mural, and I am thrilled that I was given the opportunity to do it.

What painting is next?  “It’s so beautiful here, and there are so many inspirations for my next paintings. I don’t have an exact piece in mind yet, but I think the next painting would be a place on Roi (if I could find some time to do it) “.

Whatever Oanh’s next painting is I hope I get to see it and if you happen to be going past one of the schools and have not seen the murals yet stop for a moment and take a look at them, they truly are great works of art that we will get to enjoy for many years.

Photos by Sherman Hogue, USAKA - PAO