One of Iowa’s characters will once again have his creative work on display for Memorial Day. A colossal rock on state Highway 25 just south of Interstate-80 in Adair County will be painted…but this is no “Class of 99” paint job. Ray “Bubba” Sorenson of Greenfield does a patriotic panorama each year, and he describes the design he chose for the rock this year. He’s got the Vietnam Wall on the face of the rock, the slogan “All Gave Some, Some Gave All,” and around the backside he’s painted Washington crossing the Delaware, a firefighter in September eleventh rubble, and on yet another side he portrays an aircraft carrier and fighter pilot. This is the fifth year Sorenson has put a fresh design on the rock in time for Memorial Day. The movie “Saving Private Ryan” had just come out when he and a friend passed the rock one day and got the idea, and though the friend “kind of bailed out,” Sorenson went to the rock and painted the idea he’d developed, getting a big response. That’s when he decided to keep it up, and has done it ever since. Sorenson’s annual artwork has gained local renown, though it’s located north of town at the entrance to a quarry. He says it’s kind of a symbol, and kids who like to come by and look at it may ask their fathers or grandfathers about the sacrifices made by a veteran. Sorenson, who donates his time and the art supplies, says he worked all last week from nine A.M. to nine at night to finish the design in time for Memorial Day.
