CHARLOTTE, N.C. — A veteran creates sculptures to raise awareness about the military and veteran mental health.

What You Need To Know

  • Josh King creates sculptures in his free time

  • King created a piece called "The Weight" focused on raising awareness about veteran suicide

  • The U.S. Department of Veteran Affairs estimates on average more than 16 veterans die by suicide every day

  • "The Weight" is being displayed in New Jersey and soon will be displayed in North Carolina

Josh King served in the U.S. Army and the Army National Guard for a combined 23 years.

“I’m proud because I like the service to other people and knowing you are out there doing hard things so other people don’t have to,” King said. 

In his free time, the TV producer creates art pieces focused on the military. 

“As much as I get from it is the stories, the camaraderie and stories from other people,” King said. 

He found inspiration for one of his pieces after interviews in 2019 with veterans who attempted suicide and families who lost a loved one. 

“It’s really focused on the mental health of soldiers and coming to grips to what you left behind,” King said. 

The sculpture called "The Weight" represents the emotional weight veterans carry on their backs. 

“You see the guy sitting at the bar and he has equipment, multiple packs of equipment and that equipment belongs to his friends who didn’t make it,” King said. 

The U.S. Department of Veteran Affairs estimates on average more than 16 veterans die by suicide every day. King said he lost six friends, some to suicide and others to substance abuse, after returning from Iraq. 

"Soldiers and sailors, Marines and airmen struggle sometimes, saying, ‘I need some help with this, I’m struggling.’ I think that’s what I wanted to represent here, and I think that’s what happened to my friends I lost,” King said. 

"The Weight" is being displayed at Robert Wood Johnson University in New Jersey and soon it will be displayed in North Carolina. 

King said it’s a way to keep the conversation going and pay tribute to those no longer here. 

“To honor them, recognize their sacrifice and that there are still people suffering and not even just the soldiers, their families,” King said. 

King is submitting "The Weight" to a Cabarrus Art Council Mental Health Art exhibit next year, where he said it will be auctioned.

He said he also has a commissioned life-sized sculpture displayed in a Navy base in Virginia. He also served as a consultant on a World War I monument in France, honoring North Carolina’s 30th Infantry Regiment. 

Veterans Bridge Home selected King as the veteran of the year because of his volunteering.