10 El Nuevo Tennessean | 2017
Veteran continues legacy
through volunteer work
STORY AND PHOTOS BY CARSON ARNOLD
M
any U.S. military veterans rely on a
method of coping to return to their
civilian lives. Maria Perez Whiston
relies on fellowship with other veterans.
Whiston, a retired Army veteran, finds her
peace in volunteering at the Warriors Canvas and
Veterans Arts Center, an art gallery in downtown
Johnson City that allows veterans to showcase
their work, take classes and sell their art. The
gallery offers supplies free of charge to the
veterans in an effort to give them fellowship and
socialization with one another.
Whiston has volunteered with the Warriors
Canvas for two years. She helps to organize and
execute fundraisers and other special events, and
also manages the Facebook page.
David Shields, a retired Air Force sergeant, is
one of the men who opened the gallery.
[Maria] was the principal organizer of The
Warriors Canvas Womens Group, which
meets regularly to complete projects and enjoy
camaraderie, Shields said. She is a great
asset to the work of The Warriors Canvas and
Veterans Art Center and an integral part of our
community.
Whiston grew up in Wichita Falls, Texas, the
youngest of three daughters. Her father was
a born-and-raised Texan, while her mother
was a Mexican immigrant. Whiston received a
traditional schooling and after completing a few
college courses, she decided to join the military in
order to travel.
I wanted to see the rest of the world before
I got stuck, Whiston said. Stuck in the sense
of either by marriage or as it happens, having a
relationship or having kids. I wasnt ready for that
yet, so I joined the military.
Upon entry into the military, Whiston was
tested and given a job as a cook, where she was
shocked by the reality of the trade.
They were not the little pots that were in my
moms kitchen They were huge! They were like
Private, put that over here, and Im like, What?
Are you crazy?
Soon after beginning her military cooking
career, Whiston decided to retest for a better job.
Maria Whiston
connects
through the arts
in downtown
Johnson City
She was offered several new career paths, and
chose 97 Bravoa small task force stationed at
Camp Bedrock, Bosnia-Herzegovina, during the
time of the Bosnian genocide.
We were the four that went out on daily
convoys, conducting liaisons, meeting with WOS
and doing different things like that, she said.
WOS, Women of Srebrenica, is a nonprofit
group that seeks to counsel and assist the women
whose lives were affected by the mass genocide
that struck the town of Srebrenica in 1995. More
than 8,000 Bosnians were slaughtered by Serbian
forces, making it the largest mass murder since
the Holocaust.
According to an article on the Bosnian genocide
by the staff of history.com, by summer of 1995
Bosnia controlled the towns of Srebrenica, Zepa
and Gorazde, which had been declared safe
havens two years earlier by the United Nations.
Bosnian Serbs took over Srebrenica and the
town of Zepa. The citizens were divided into
groupsthe women and girls were loaded
onto buses and sent to Bosnian-held territory or
 2017 | El Nuevo Tennessean 11
rape camps. Men and boys were killed onsite or
transported to mass killing spots.
In August 1995 the Serbs declined a United
Nations ultimatum, so the North Atlantic Treaty
Organization joined with the Bosnian and Croatian
armies for three weeks and bombed Serb positions.
Finally, following a peace talk sponsored by
the U.S. in Ohio, an official division was placed
between a Croat-Bosniak federation and a
Serb republic.
Among the 20,000 other U.N. soldiers deployed
to Bosnia during this time, Whiston worked
alongside a nonprofit organization in Srebrenica
that was dedicated to helping the Bosnian women
who had lost their husbands and sons at the hands
of the Serbs.
She worked very closely with the women in
Srebrenica during her time in the Army and still
thinks about those she helped.
It is never, ever okay for anyone from the
level of a student who witnesses bullying to a
country who witnesses genocide it is never
Once stationed in Bosnia-Herzegovina, Maria Whiston now volunteers at The Warriors Canvas.
okay, Whiston said.
As in every war, there are diversified opinions on
whether or not U.S. involvement in foreign affairs IT IS NEVER, EVER OKAY FOR ANYONE FROM THE LEVEL OF
is necessary. Whiston is certain about her opinion. A STUDENT WHO WITNESSES BULLYING TO A COUNTRY WHO
I think they did the best they could at the
time, and I think saving a life always, always is WITNESSES GENOCIDE IT IS NEVER OKAY.
important, Whiston said. So, if thats what it
took to save lives, then I would say yes. I think that MARIA PEREZ WHISTON
every life is just as treasurable and as big as the
next one, no matter who it is, what theyre wearing,
or what their status is.
Women in Srebrenica are still searching for the
bodies of their beloved husbands and sons, longing
only for closure and a proper burial, according
to Whiston.
These people were killed for absolutely no
reason, other than their names and who they
were, Whiston said. And that wasnt okay.
Whiston was medically discharged from the U.S.
Army in 2001. She and her family currently live
in Jonesborough.
Although she leads a fairly normal life, Whiston
walks with a cane that she tries not to rely on. In
fact, rarely ever does the word no appear in her
vocabulary. Her time is filled with her husband, her
children, and her volunteer work.
Whiston tries to keep a positive attitude for
herself, her family, and her fellow veterans
whom she suppor ts through her work at the
art gallery. Whiston in her Army days
Ive gone through a lot, Ive lived through
a lot, Ive seen a lot, and Ive grown a lot, and
today I am not that same person, Whiston said.
However, I carry with me elements of it and
some things Ill never forget.
PAGE DESIGN | BIANCA MARAIS