Artist who served in National Guard adds mural to Mt. Pleasant's Veterans Wall

More than 2,700 names of those who have served in the military in various eras are etched in granite slabs on Mt. Pleasant Borough’s Veterans Wall.

Soon, those who visit that patriotic landmark will have another way to reflect on the local legacy of service, by viewing a mural added to the rear face of the wall.

Pittsburgh resident and Army National Guard veteran Meleik Lunsford has been working in between rainy spring weather to paint a tribute to fellow veterans on the back of the wall, which is visible from a neighboring parking lot and from adjacent Main Street.

Lunsford has completed previous murals for area businesses, including a smoothie shop in Penn Hills and a smoke shop in Squirrel Hill.

He said the Mt. Pleasant mural is a commission that has extra meaning for him.

“I couldn’t ask for a better job,” Lunsford said. “I know how important it is to appreciate veterans and all that they do.”

Borough council hired him in April to complete the mural, at a cost not to exceed $12,000.

Lunsford had the painting partially completed for the town’s annual Memorial Day ceremony, when the project was highlighted for those in attendance.

“As a veteran, he understood clearly what we’re looking for in the mural,” said Patience Barnes, a member of borough council who chairs the panel’s Veterans Park committee.

In addition to presenting his concept of the mural to borough officials, Lunsford met with a committee of local veterans about the project.

“They just wanted it to be a good representation of each branch of the military,” he said. “They wanted to make sure I had everything I need, and they wanted to make sure everything was protected.”

Lunsford has been climbing a ladder to sketch and then paint images on some sections of the wall, which are more than 10 feet high.

After creating the military scenes with acrylic paint, he planned to apply a coating to protect the outdoor work from the effects of UV rays.

Dividing the wall into six panels, Lunsford has devoted one each to a branch of military service. A seventh, central panel will provide space for a large image of an American flag.

“I wanted to represent themes from some of the wars the people in the town have been in and some of the planes and ships they would recognize,” Lunsford said. “It’s really a tribute to them.”

The leftmost panel depicts a Coast Guard ship and helicopter heading to a rescue.

On other panels, Lunsford chose to juxtapose images to provide snapshots of the progression through the years of the Marine Corps and Army.

The former section of the mural includes a rendering of the Tun Tavern, a Philadelphia gathering place said to be where the Marines had their start, in 1775.

Said Lunsford, “There are three Marines in dress blues standing in front of the tavern. It’s bringing the modern Marines back to the start.”

Lunsford represents the Army with soldiers from different eras, armed with everything from a musket to a machine gun.

At the right end of the wall is the section for the newest military branch, the Space Force.

Despite the out-of-this-world interests of the branch, Lunsford said of his related design, “I wanted to keep the simple style going, nothing too colorful.”

In addition to walls, the human body provides a canvas for Lunsford, who operates Red Customs tattoo studio in Pittsburgh’s Carrick neighborhood.

A customer at the studio made him aware of Mt. Pleasant’s search for a mural artist.

“Since I was a kid, I’ve been drawing,” Lunsford said.

Before graduating in 2016 from a Pittsburgh charter school, he had started his first art-related business venture, painting custom designs on clients’ shoes.

He’d begun business studies at Slippery Rock University when he decided to join the National Guard.

“I joined my first year in college,” he said. “When I was there, I was around people who were in the military, and they seemed like some pretty good guys.”

With the additional example of two “great” uncles who had served in the Marines and the Army, he said, “It seemed like a good opportunity to serve,” while also helping with schooling expenses.

Lunsford served in the National Guard for six years, assigned to an infantry Stryker unit.

When his expected deployment to Poland was canceled at the last minute, it was past the deadline for him to sign up for the next semester of classes at Slippery Rock.

“Everything happens for a reason,” he said. “That’s when I took my business a lot more seriously.”

In 2020, he’d branched from painting shoes to work as a tattoo artist. He also took up painting murals.

When he received his Mt. Pleasant commission in April, he began making repeated hour-long drives to work on the mural while still keeping appointments at his tattoo studio.

“It’s definitely been a little bit challenging, but nothing I can’t handle,” he said.

Located at Main and Diamond streets, near Mt. Pleasant’s post-World War I doughboy statue, the borough’s Veterans Park began in 1973 with a gazebo and a large engraved stone dedicated to veterans.

The Veterans Wall was dedicated at the park in 2003, displaying nearly 2,000 names of local veterans. An expansion added room for additional names.

A “digital” wall display subsequently was developed, allowing visitors to search the location of names on the physical wall. The digital format also provides for a brief description of a veteran’s service record and their photo.

“Anyone who served in the military and had a general or honorable discharge in the Mt. Pleasant area can get their name put on the wall,” said Joe Zelenak, Mt. Pleasant VFW commander and member of a separate town sub-committee that helps to oversee Veterans Park.