Photo provided.
Marine Rob Holzinger Jr., of Huntington, is lending his artistic talents to the United States military.
Holzinger, who is recuperating from a second serious battle injury, created the design of the "Wounded Warrior" coin.
The coin is given by an officer to a Marine who has done something deserving of special recognition, explains Holzinger's mother, Gloria Holzinger, of Huntington.
One of the coins recently turned up in Columbia City, given as a gift to Columbia City High School freshman Jenna Davis as a "thank you" for a letter she wrote that ended up in the hands of Holzinger Jr. The letter Davis wrote was one of many letters students in the district sent to injured Marines at Camp Lejeune in North Carolina.
The coin Holzinger designed features two Marines carrying a wounded comrade, with the Marine insignia on the reverse. It was designed for the Wounded Warrior Battalion-East at Camp Lejeune.
A different coin, not designed by Holzinger, is used on the west coast, Gloria Holzinger says.
Holzinger Jr. also designed a coin for the 2nd Light Armor Reconnaissance Company, his mother says, and created a design for T-shirts and plaques.
Holzinger Jr., 31, has served four tours of duty in Iraq. He sustained his first injury in Iraq on Veterans Day 2006. He is recuperating at Camp Lejeune.
