Five new portraits were installed June 29 in the Hall of Heroes at the Collin County Courthouse. Farmersville native Pharmacist Mate 1st Class Billy Bain Honaker, pictured second from left, was among those honored. He was declared missing in action after the USS Jarvis disappeared in July 1942. Photo courtesy Misty Wiebold

The face of a long-missing World War II sailor from Farmersville now joins the Hall of Heroes at the Collin County Courthouse, where generations of visitors will learn the stories of local men and women who gave their lives in service to the nation.

Among five new portraits unveiled during a special ceremony June 29 is that of Pharmacist Mate 1st Class William “Billy” Bain Honaker, 24, of Farmersville, who was serving aboard the USS Jarvis when the destroyer disappeared in the Pacific during World War II. Honaker and the ship’s entire crew were declared missing in action on July 12, 1942. 

At the ceremony, artist and co-founder Colin E. Kimball spoke about each veteran. He told of how the Jarvis was first struck by a torpedo while protecting Marines landing on Guadalcanal. 

“It didn’t sink it, but it severely damaged it,” he said. 

Seven sailors were wounded and off-loaded to other ships. Crew members completed emergency repairs the following day before departing that night, without an escort, for a port in Australia.

Kimball said they were spotted by a Japanese aircraft, and the ship was “ultimately struck, split in half and sank.” 

“He [Honaker] remains missing in action to this day,” Kimball said.

Honaker’s portrait and those of four others bring the courthouse’s Hall of Heroes collection to 115 memorials honoring Collin County service members who made the ultimate sacrifice. 

For Kimball, each portrait is far more than a historical illustration.

“I always hand paint the eyes when I create the portraits as they are the most important piece,” Kimball said. “It gives a sense of the warrior’s spirit and soul.”

Although the finished works resemble traditional paintings, Kimball creates them entirely through a detailed digital process. Beginning with an original black-and-white photograph, he researches period uniforms, military regulations, decorations, rank insignia and unit patches before digitally painting each image into a realistic portrait.

The process can take as little as 12 hours or stretch over several months, depending on the amount of research required.

Kimball co-founded the North Texas Fallen Warrior Project in 2013 with the late Ronnie “R.D.” Foster, a Farmersville native, Vietnam veteran and U.S. Marine who spent years researching Collin County’s fallen service members.

Kimball credits Foster with laying the historical foundation that made the portrait project possible.

“He was the audio and I was the visual,” Kimball said of their partnership.

Together, the pair identified fallen warriors whose names were added to the memorial wall at McKinney Veterans Memorial Park, now named in Foster’s honor. Foster also authored several books documenting Collin County veterans who served during World War I, the Korean War and the Vietnam War.

Today, Kimball continues that mission, researching and illustrating stories Foster was unable to complete, particularly those involving World War II service members. 

Kimball is also a published military history writer who has contributed to more than a dozen editions of the “True Stories of Heroism That Defy Comprehension” book series, writing about service members from various branches of the military. His latest contribution focuses on Audie Murphy as an “unlikely hero.”

“I discovered a few interesting details about Audie that have either been overlooked or gone largely unreported,” Kimball said. “That was a lot of fun to research.”

He is currently writing a book about McKinney native Staff Sgt. Bobby Younger, whose B-24 was shot down over Germany in 1944 and who remained missing in action for over 70 years.

Beyond the courthouse collection, Kimball has created more than 200 portraits of posthumous Medal of Honor recipients and has also honored fallen police officers, firefighters and other local heroes.

The courthouse exhibit preserves the stories of more than 400 known fallen service members from Collin County while serving as an educational resource for future generations.

Kimball said he plans to continue adding to that legacy. He has more than a dozen additional portraits awaiting installation beyond the 115 currently displayed in the courthouse.

“I plan on continuing this work until the Lord has other plans for me,” he said.

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