- On Tuesday, Phillip Campas' legacy was etched in graphite by Shafter artist David Vanderpool for the Portrait of a Warrior gallery in Bakersfield. Campas was honored by friends, family, and colleagues at the Gallery. Following the ceremony, 23ABC spoke with Campas' parents and close family friends about what they remember about Campas.
- Campas' portrait, along with other Kern County veterans who died outside of the battlefield, can be found in the Portrait of a Warrior gallery's "Hall of Honor."
- The gallery is open Tuesday through Thursday and on Saturdays from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m.
BROADCAST TRANSCRIPT:
On July 25, 2021, Kern County Sheriff’s Deputy and SWAT team member, Phillip Campas, was shot and killed while responding to a hostage situation in Wasco.
In the years since, there have been many ways that the city, and Kern County as a whole, has commemorated Campas' life. Notably, his name being engraved on the Kern County Sheriff's Office Memorial, the highway interchange between Highway 65 and Highway 99 was named in his honor. And today, his family and the Portrait of a Warrior Gallery was presented with a depiction of his life.
The Portrait of a Warrior Gallery pays homage to Kern County Veterans. Campas served in the Marines from 2004 to 2015, serving in Afghanistan and as a Drill Instructor at Parris Island in South Carolina.
Campas’ portrait can be found in the Gallery’s “Hall of Honor” commemorating Veterans who died outside of the battlefield. The portraits seen in the “Hall of Honor” are done by Shafter artist David Vanderpool as a contribution. Vanderpool was unable to attend Tuesday’s ceremony due to illness, but Jason Geis one of the co-founders of the gallery called Vanderpool the hidden hero of that part of the gallery.
“It’s a talent that was given to him by god in my opinion that he shares with us. Working with families that have lost someone that’s so important to them," said Geis.
On Tuesday, the late deputy was honored for his military service with that depiction of his life but the ceremony also served as an opportunity for those who loved Campas to think back on his time outside of his military and law enforcement careers..
"It's about Phillip being Phillip. Just being a kid. I remember him playing Twister in the living room at the beach house when he was about eight years old. I remember him going to the fair and crying like a baby on top of the Ferris wheel, screaming with my son Matt because they were both scared at the top of the Ferris wheel," said Russell Martin, a close family friend of the Campas'. "Those are the memories that are more important to me."
"I think it was 5th or 6th grade and he caught a 6-and-a-half-pound brown trout out of the reservoir. Probably the biggest fish he'd caught at that time. But that's how -- that's how I remember him," said Jesse Campas, Phillip's father. "We just miss him. We just miss the heck out of him."
The gallery is open Tuesday through Thursday during the week and on Saturdays from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m.
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