I wrote a post six years ago about the work of Anna Coleman Ladd. Today, I came across a Daily Mail article about her with some new pictures. Looking at them again, I’m impressed and touched by her work.

Musical accompaniment: Since I’ve Laid My Burden Down performed by Mississippi John Hurt.

 

The number of young men who were wounded and disfigured from the brutal war is staggering. Their sacrifice wasn’t limited to the fighting. Returning to civilian life is never easy for a veteran. Many of the World War One vets were in for a lifetime of pain. Anna Coleman Ladd was a Boston sculptor who moved to France with her husband during the war. She created prosthetic masks for disfigured soldiers to help them adjust to civilian life.  In her way, she was a miracle worker.

In this photo, a German man is led by a Red Cross dog as they search for wounded soldiers.

This was long before facial reconstruction surgery could look so natural as to not be detectable. In most cases, the men could not alter their appearance, but they could disguise it with these prosthetics which were held in place with glasses.

Anna’s work must have meant the world to them.

These photos show a young soldier with and without his prosthetic reconstruction.

A process of facial reconstruction unfolds over time.

 

A man refines a prosthetic to fit a patient.

A pair of glasses attached to a glass eye.

A selection of prosthetic facial features.  Master craftsmen typically created and painted the eyes to fit particular patients.

 

We have a lot to be grateful for. Bless the people like Anna who used her talent to help these returning soldiers.