A portrait of Mackenzie Shay, an SRU junior who died in a training accident in October with the National Guard, was created by portrait artist Johnny Castro, a Philadelphia-based police officer and forensic composite artist. 2022

A recent portrait of Spc. Mackenzie Shay, a Pennsylvania National Guard soldier and Slippery Rock University student from New Castle, will help the world remember her in uniform.

Jonny Castro, a Philadelphia-based artist, recently created a portrait of Shay, who died in a fatal training accident on Oct. 22 in a vehicle crash from a training exercise at Fort Indiantown Gap base.

“I just wanted to make sure it was done right, done with dignity and make sure it looked good for her family,” Castro said.

Castro has created more than 1,200 portraits of fallen soldiers or first responders for over 16 years. He finds it especially meaningful to honor people whose time in the service had been cut short, giving families a way to remember their military service.

Once Castro completes each portrait, he ships it to the family of that person free of charge.

“It’s just particularly rewarding ... if an officer or service member doesn’t have a particular photo in uniform ... to create that, to give the family something that they can frame, that they can put on the wall, that they can remember to pass down to their grandchildren,” Castro said.

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