AMHERST — Completing tattoo art sketches and illustrating cartoons became a creative outlet for U.S. Navy veteran Evelio “Evan” Velez when dealing with high-pressure situations during his time in the military.

A Springfield resident who continues to make his home in the city where he grew up, Velez has turned his artistic skills into award-winning acrylic and watercolor landscapes and portraits, recently taking home the top prize in the Creative Arts Therapy Program at the VA Central Western Massachusetts Health Care System for painting The Joker, the comic book supervillian.

Honing his art after back surgery, and continuing his recovery by learning yoga and kickboxing and even hiking to the top of Skinner State Park in Hadley a few days ago, Velez encouraged other veterans to take advantage of the programs provided through their local veterans offices.

“I’ve been blessed to be able to participate in a lot of the things the veterans offer,” Velez told those gathered at the Amherst Salute to Veterans Breakfast Monday morning at the Bangs Community Center.

Velez, a U.S. Navy boatswain’s mate from 2008 to 2012 on the U.S.S. Enterprise, enlisted in the Navy both as a way to honor his grandfather, a Vietnam War veteran, and inspired to serve after the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks. “I don’t regret it at all,” Velez said. “Just going in there and seeing things and doing things I would have never done if I hadn’t enlisted.”

Central Hampshire Veterans Services Director Steve Connor said painting, poetry and performance art can be ways for veterans to release and vent.

These are part of an exhibit of more than 100 pieces of artwork and creative writing by veterans like Velez, many done in the Creative Arts Studio at the VA. The top three submissions from each category will be judged in the 2025 National Veterans Creative Arts Festival being held in Indianapolis next May.

With 300,000 veterans in the state and an aging population of those who have served, Connor appealed for the community to help meet their needs, observing that VFWs and American Legions are getting smaller and closing, and those without military experience and without family members in the military need to lead the way and get involved.

“We, as a community, need to honor veterans who are in our presence,” Connor said.

As veterans socialized on Monday while drinking coffee and eating pastries from The Works bakery, the Rev. Floyd Williams, an associate pastor at Goodwin Memorial AME Zion Church, offered prayers for those who served bravely and have overcome both physical and mental scars. He also suggested helping the many veterans who are semi-homeless and semi-employed, and need a void filled in their lives.

“We honor them, we give them vast respect,” Williams said.

Town Council President Lynn Griesemer read the poem “Take a Moment to Thank a Veteran,” while state Rep. Mindy Domb said the new Veterans Home rising in Holyoke is a testament to community coming together and advocacy of family members. She noted the HERO Act recently became law, expanding and updating services for veterans, and asked veterans and advocates to help preserve democracy.

“I look forward to continuing to partner to protect democracy in the coming years,” Domb said.

Following the breakfast, a brief ceremony was held on the overhauled North Common on the breezy, mild day, with a number of spectators sitting on the low concrete wall that surrounds a patio near the flagpole from which flies an American flag and a flag for prisoners of war and those missing in action. Griesemer said this marked the first official ceremony at the rehabilitated space that next month will be the site of the Merry Maple celebration.

After the reciting of the Pledge of Allegiance and playing of the national anthem, an invocation by Williams and brief comments by Connor, the ceremony concluded with the bells at the nearby Grace Episcopal Church ringing out 11 times.

Those who came to the breakfast appreciated the chance for conversation and to be recognized for their service.

Isaiah Brown served in the Marine Corps from 1967 to 1969, reflecting on being in Vietnam and once nearly being attacked by a cobra that forced him and a fellow soldier to empty their weapons into the large snake.

Brown said he was marking both Veterans Day and the Marine Corps’ birthday. “I always celebrate both of them at the same time,” Brown said.

One of the senior-most veterans at the breakfast was Ward Theilman, who served in the Marine Corps during the Korean War. Theilman was wearing a red hat with an insignia from the 7th Marines Battalion.

Marylou Theilman said her husband did his service and then reenlisted, and remains proud of his service. “Once a Marine, always a Marine,” she said.

Jim Delamater, who served in the U.S. Army from 1956 to 1958, applauded having the breakfast.

“It’s a nice reminder, a way to make connections, to chat and enjoy the food,” Delamater said.

Scott Merzbach can be reached at smerzbach@gazettenet.com.