Antique

Michael Rodriguez is one of more than 60 American service members who sat for a portrait by President George W. Bush. They are pictured together at Bush's 70th birthday bike ride at Prairie Chapel Ranch in Crawford, Texas.

Michael Rodriguez is both a military man and a muse. Years after President George W. Bush sent him into war, the two men now call each other friends.

Rodriguez was a U.S. Army Special Forces Green Beret who served from 1992 to 2013. He's featured in President Bush's book of portraits of more than 60 soldiers, sailors, airmen and Marines who served in wars under his watch. It's called Portraits of Courage: A Commander in Chief's Tribute to America's Warriors.



"The story behind the colors of my eyes being different is I actually wear prosthetic lenses to help correct some of the neurological vision issues that I have which are secondary to the number of brain injuries that I received in my service," Rodriguez explains.

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