Media Archive
Welcome to the Fallen Heroes Portrait Project media archive. Here you will find various media presentations about Michael Reagan and the Fallen Heroes Project. This represents a sample of the most informative pieces that have been done. Each piece will have a short description and length. Click on the link to see or hear each piece.
NBC Today Show Story
Piece by producer Jay Walton which follows a portrait request to Michael drawing the portrait to delivery to the requesting (Donald C May) family ( 4 minutes).
King 5 TV News Feature – 2014
Piece by reporter John Sharify about the 10 year anniversary of the Foundation and Michael’s inspiration for doing the Fallen Hero portraits – Vincent B. Santaniello ( 9 minutes).
NBC Evening Magazine 2004
Shows Michael’s work before the Fallen Heroes Project started. This is the media piece that prompted the first fallen hero portrait request of Michael Johnson by his wife (3 minutes) .
NBC News Alaska 2007
Relays stories of what the portraits mean to the families including one Alaska gold star widow who had the portrait of her husband in the delivery room while she gave birth to their child (5 minutes).
FOX Baltimore Cover Story 2009
Story featuring three Maryland families who have been impacted by the project. Shows delivery of a portrait to one family by Gold Star Dad and current project board member Eric Herzberg (4 minutes).
NBC Evening Magazine 2009
Shows the complete process of portrait request to receipt by Gold Star family (9 minutes). In 2010, both the writer and photographer won Emmy awards for this story.
PBS Documentary 2010
Emmy award winning documentary on the Fallen Heroes Project. Beautiful and moving piece on what motivates Michael to do what he is doing. Interviews with families and their explanation of why the portraits have had such a powerful effect on them (26 minutes).
Live from Seattle – 2010
Radio interview with Michael Reagan and host Doug Bursch where Michael explains the project and why the portraits have an emotional connection for the families. Also includes Michael’s thoughts on doing portraits for each of the 26 families impacted by the Newtown, Connecticut shootings tragedy (approx 30 minutes total)
Part 1 of the interview
Part 2 of the interview
Part 3 of the interview
Story of Michael Reagan portrait of Chester Nez one of the original Navajo code talkers – November 2018
Story shows the portrait of Chester being delivered to Chester’s son by Michael’s friend Doc Nunn, himself a Vietnam Corpsman (2 minutes).
NPR National Program “All Things Considered” 2010
Provides background on the project as well as samples of Michael’s portraits (4 minutes).
CBS Seattle News 2006
Story that shows Michael at work and how he draws each portrait (2 minutes).
Fort Lewis Presentation 2007
Presentation by Michael Reagan upon receiving recognition for the project from Fort Lewis commander. Contains various video segments of the project and Michael explaining the origin of the project. Gold star Dad Joe Colgan included in the program (30 minutes).
USAA Memorial Day Video (includes Michael as Keynote Speaker)
Video of USAA Memorial Day Ceremony of Michael drawing a portrait of Eldon Arcand and showing delivery of the portrait to Eldon’s family in Minnesota. The video also features Michael serving as keynote speaker in San Antonio and delivering a powerful message about the Fallen Heroes Project and it’s origins (20 minutes).
Video of Michael Reagan presentation to National Gold Star Mothers convention in San Antonio – July 2017
Michael Reagan discusses origin of the foundation with the National Gold Star Mothers, and why he feels like every portrait is his first and only one (38 minutes).