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Walking in downtown Detroit you see many things but perched up on a stoop was Charles. What caught my eye was the fact that his sign read Army Veteran Artist. Using a deactivate cellular phone he draws portraits of images he's collected over the years from the device. He said every once in a while, he charges to make money of individuals. Using a lead number 2 pencil I watched his sketch as we talked. Entering in in the Army only to go to Vietnam eventually lead to being shot and patched up only to have it done again he said. Taking rounds in the leg and arm. He said as a tunnel you went in tunnels looking for the Vietcong with in one hand a flashlight and the other a sidearm. He said it gave me a keen sense of smell he said I had to use my sense of smell rather than use the light. Charles said some of the holes were so dark that using my GI flashlight made it more dangerous because the light showed us coming. He said after a while you learned what the enemy smelled like from crawling in man-sized tunnels. Charles said initially it was volunteer work as an infantryman then after doing it a couple hundred times it later for passed to others. Now suffering with Ptsd and other ailments from combat he channels his energy to his pencil and pad. He said even though I live on the streets he said I will forever be an artist.