James Edward Lykins

{{short description|American sculptor}}

James Edward Lykins is a sculptor from South Charleston, West Virginia. His father was H. F. Lykins, an organic research chemist for Union Carbide, and his mother was a registered nurse named M. E. Lykins. He was interested in art from a young age, but did not like the publicity. After entering an art competition, he was offered a four-year arts scholarship to a university in Hawaii, but was too young to accept it at age 14. Three years later he joined the United States Marine Corps.{{Cite web|url=https://www.flickr.com/photos/jameslykins/sets/72157625385635446/|title = Green Faces Purple Hearts|date = 13 November 2010}} He won a Purple Heart for his actions in the Vietnamese Demilitarized Zone and in Laos during the Vietnam War.{{citation needed|date=January 2021}} He suffers posttraumatic stress disorder from his experiences, and his wife Robin Lykins inspired him to take up art as a hobby again as therapy. One of his better known pieces, Green Faces/Purple Hearts, has won the first prize at the National Veterans Creative Arts Festival.{{cite web |url=http://www.wvgazette.com/Life/201010150731 |title=The 'art' of war - Life - the Charleston Gazette - West Virginia News and Sports - |website=www.wvgazette.com |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20101022015654/http://www.wvgazette.com/Life/201010150731 |archive-date=2010-10-22}} He has also sculpted memorials to Chuck Yeager, Carter G. Woodson, and a memorial to the Fallen Firefighters of West Virginia.