How a 97-year-old's portrait of a fallen Army hero got to his Va. family, 4 years later

ARLINGTON, Va. (7News) — Reporter's Notebook: Earlier this year the family of 97-year-old New York City area artist Marion Gerrick Cohen contacted me to see if I could help them get a very special portrait to the parents of fallen U.S. Army Captain Humayun Khan. Captain Khan's parents, Khizr and Ghazala Khan, live in Virginia. I traveled several states over several weeks to bring the portrait of a hero home.

A Gold Star Family

We met Khizr and Ghazala Khan at their home in the Charlottesville area. The first thing you notice entering their home is a family living room dedicated to their middle son, Humayun.

Mr. Khan gave us a brief tour saying, “This is the gold star flag that the military sends when a member of the family is killed."

In this room are Captain Khan's Purple Heart, Bronze Star, and countless other commendations along with photographs, keepsakes, and a bundle of letters among the thousands sent to the family following Humayun's death in the Iraq War in 2004.

Ask the Khans and they'll tell you, the mourning never ends and that closure is a luxury hard to find among the heartbroken.

“Take away all this and give us our son back," says Mr. Khan.

Khizr Khan’s son was the giving and gallant U.S. Army Captain Humayun Khan. His parents describe him as a visionary leader, beloved by his unit not only for his leadership skills but also for his empathy. The Khans say their son was a peacemaker who brought people together, always took care of his fellow soldiers, and believed deeply in service to others.

“He sees a fast-moving car coming toward the gates. He realizes this is unusual. He shouts to his members of his unit that were guarding the gate to hit the ground," says Mr. Khan.

Mr. Khan says, according to members of his unit who witnessed his son's death near the base camp they were protecting, that Humayun put himself in front of an approaching suicide bomber. His actions ended his life while saving countless others.

The same Captain Khan whose name adorns a U.S. Post Office in Charlottesville, near his parent’s home. The same Captain Khan honored outside the famed Rotunda at the University of Virginia with a plaque that reads, “He stands in the unbroken line of patriots who dared to die that freedom might live." Captain Khan graduated from UVA and was a part of the school's Army ROTC program. A scholarship has since been named in his honor.

Ghazala and her husband have found there is room for healing when others find space in their hearts to honor their son. Like the remarkable gift inside a box they would soon receive.

A Call for Help

Our story begins a couple months ago when I received a call from Randy Chaplin, who lives in the New York City area. He was desperately trying to find, but could not track down, the family of Captain Humayun Khan. Chaplin’s nearly 100-year-old mother-in-law made something for the Khan family. So, I drove one day from Virginia up I-95 to the Jersey turnpike and into New York City, eventually stopping in a small suburban town to chat with an esteemed artist born nearly a century ago.

“I like drawing. I really do," Marion Gerrick Cohen told me from her home in Great Neck, New York. Cohen doesn’t retreat to her studio as often as she used to. But all’s forgiven at 97.

Cohen adds, “I really do like doing portraits. I like getting resemblance, you know.”

Cohen’s modesty is monumental. The Pratt Institute graduate started off as an illustrator for Timely-Atlas, the precursor to Marvel Comics. She worked down the hall from the iconic Stan Lee, recalling he was kind and quite funny. Cohen went on to become an award-winning master of color and light has since created some 1,000 works of art.

A Gift for the Grieving

A few treasured pieces Cohen has made over the years were not for sale.

Cohen says, “Well, right now I’m working on the shirt which is blue. Shades of blue actually, not just blue.”

Cohen, on a few occasions, has drawn the likeness of a person taken from their parent’s embrace. Her latest depiction, 6-year-old Dylan Hockley, who was killed at Sandy Hook Elementary in 2012.

“You hope to give the family a feeling that he’s there. Now, I’m getting teary-eyed. I don’t want to talk about it. Oh gosh," says Cohen.

Cohen will ship Dylan’s image to the family at no cost. In the 1970s she created a portrait of Anne Frank and send that piece to The Anne Frank House in Amsterdam. We’re here on this day because of another portrait: the one holding steadfast to Cohen’s dining room wall since 2016.

“I worked a long time on it. It was difficult. I was depressed about what happened to him. It was sad. It was hard to work on," admits Cohen.

Cohen decision to draw Captain Khan's likeness unfolded in 2016 while watching on television the Democratic National Convention in Philadelphia. She was deeply moved when Mr. Khan, a speaker at the event, posed a question to then-presidential candidate Donald Trump.

“Have you even read the United States Constitution? I will gladly lend you my copy. Have you ever been to Arlington Cemetery? Go look at the graves of brave patriots who died defending United States of America. You will see all faiths, genders and ethnicities. You have sacrificed nothing,” Mr. Khan said during the speech.

She finished Captain Khan’s portrait two months later. But it remained in her home for four years. The family wanted to give it to the Khan family but couldn’t find them. They recently asked me to reach out and Mr. Khan warmly agreed to let me to bring his son’s portrait home.

Later that day, Cohen's daughter Jacqueline Chaplin and her husband Randy packed up the portrait and I headed back with it to Virginia.

The Portrait Comes Home

I was invited to the Khan's home a couple weeks later when Mr. and Mrs. Khan carefully opened the box. The first thing Mr. Khan said was, “This is beautiful, amazing. What a wonderful reminder that we were blessed to have him for 27 years. Thank you.”

Mrs. Khan said, “It’s beautiful. The thing that is most looking like him is his eyes. It’s a beautiful thing she did for us. Like he’s going to say something.”

Mrs. Khan added, "I’m very proud of him that he gave his life and he saved thousands of people there, and I thank my God that he gave him to me, that I could take care of him for 27 years of his life.”

Yes, the Khan’s will mourn for the remainder of their days. But with the help of a 97-year-old artist, they continue to find space to honor their son’s service and sacrifice.

Our interview with Khizr and Ghazala Khan was, as you can imagine, very powerful. You can listen to the Khans tell moving stories about their son's dedication and service to others in the video below.