Former Green Beret turned artist shares his story of resilience, trauma and strength

ORLANDO, Fla. -- As a child, Michael "Rod" Rodriguezs's heroes weren't the ones you might expect, like Spiderman or Superman. They were actually his father, grandfathers and uncles who all served in the military and inspired him to enlist in 1992.

"I was blessed to serve this nation for 21 years in the United States Army. I was again fortunate to deploy 10 times. I'm really proud of my service. I wish I could still be serving today," Rodriguez said.

"Our America: Portraits of Courage" honors the heroic stories of veterans painted by George W. Bush in his tribute book "Portraits of Courage." These vibrant paintings highlight the courage and sacrifice of Americas military veterans and are now on display at Walt Disney World's Epcot.

Rodriguez, one of the veterans featured in the special, was a Special Forces Green Beret and deployed to countries like Somalia, Haiti, Colombia, Panama, Peru, Bolivia and twice to Afghanistan.

During this time, Rodriguez was injured several times. He says he has suffered dozens of concussions.

"I've experienced throughout my career multiple traumatic brain injuries. I never reported my injuries because I wanted to stay in the fight. So, I kept those hidden but over time the neurological deficits started to show up," Rodriguez explained.

Some of his symptoms included double vision, severe headaches, dizziness and light sensitivity. Rodriguez was diagnosed with severe PTS and TBI, leading to a medical retirement from the Army. To treat his symptoms, he was advised to wear a special tinted prosthetic lens that corrects not only his symptoms but also the loss of vision that was occurring.

His mental injuries also began to catch up with him and, thanks to his therapist, he found a spark of hope when she introduced him to the power of art.

"Getting steel and forging it into something else and getting the opportunity to just focus on that moment to work with hot metal and turn it into something. Forging it much like exercise forges your body, you forge something, you work towards a positive outcome, that really changed my view on everything that I do," Rodriguez said.

It was at this time that Rodriguez was also first introduced to President George W. Bush at an event for veterans. The two formed a bond which led the former President painting Rodriguez as one of the veterans in his book "Portraits of Courage".

"Almost ten years later I still don't know how to put it into words. Him painting me and the 97 others," shared Rodriguez of the experience. "For him to do that, to allow us to be seen. Again, it helped me feel like I was worth it, that I should be here. For whatever reason, I survived, every time I did. I probably should have died a long time ago. But him taking the time to do that made me feel like I was valued, and maybe I'm worth it."

The Portraits of Courage are on display at the American Adventure Pavilion in Epcot at the Walt Disney World Resort through Summer of 2026.

Watch the full special Our America: Portraits of Courage streaming now on Hulu.

Disney is the parent company of ABC and this station.