The City of Logan's poignant Remembrance Mural at Greenbank has delivered a powerful surprise for the family of a war hero.
The mural, in Anzac Avenue on the side of the Mt Lindesay Highway, features nine large paintings of historic war photographs.
They depict Australians in action from conflicts ranging from The Boer War through to present-day engagement in Afghanistan.
One of the hand-painted murals shows two Australian soldiers talking to a young Korean boy.
Logan Village resident Ryan Siebel was taking his car for a service recently and saw the Remembrance Mural for the first time.
He recognised that one of the men in the mural was his grandfather, Corporal Edward Geoffrey Dowell, who served in the Korean War with the Royal Australian Medical Corps as part of the 1st Battalion, The Royal Australian Regiment.
The photograph that inspired the mural is a family heirloom and once hung on the wall at Ryan's grandparents' home.
Ryan contacted his mum Janette Siebel, of Murwillumbah, who last week made an emotional visit to the Remembrance Mural.
"I just cried. I was so proud," she said.
"We are so pleased Dad's efforts in the war are being honoured and recognised in this way."
Janette revealed the young boy in the photo was named Kim. To honour him, her parents gave the same name to their first daughter, her eldest sister.
"To see the photo that was on our lounge room wall depicted in such a big painting, filled me with amazement. I was excited I was bursting to share my pride and gratitude with anyone who would listen," Janette said.
"I went into a shop across the road and told them all about it. They were extremely interested and demonstrated great empathy. It was an experience I will never forget."
The discovery comes as the City of Logan Remembrance Mural celebrates its first anniversary.
It was opened last year as part of the Centenary of the Armistice celebrations – marking 100 years since the signing of the World War I Armistice.
The images were recreated by Logan City Council's mural artists Jay Christensen and Paul Turnbull.
The pair has combined more than 30 years of service in the graffiti and pest services program run by the City Standards and Animal Care Branch.
They were instrumental in the recent painting of the Our Warriors mural on the Chester Park water tower at Boronia Heights.
