was painted … has participated in one of two events that the president hosts every year with wounded veterans and their families” – a bike ride and a golf tournament – said former US army sergeant first class Michael Rodriguez.

Rodriguez, who is pictured in a standalone portrait by Bush, was deployed nine times during his 21 years in the military and wounded several times, “mainly traumatic brain injuries” from bomb blasts.

He met Bush during a mountain bike ride in 2014, and was later selected for an advisory council on how to better serve post-9/11 veterans and their families, getting to know him personally.

Rodriguez said he has no anger towards Bush over the wounds he sustained.

“During my 21 years of service, I worked for four different presidents. I wouldnever assume to … be that arrogant to think I … had all the information to make the decisions they made,” he said.

He said he has “never ever been upset at any of our presidents”.

Portraits of Courage is a collection of 66 paintings by the former US president [Olivier Douliery/AFP]

Former US army sergeant DeWitt Osborne is another veteran painted by Bush, like Flom appearing in a montage of military personnel.

He was wounded by a bomb blast near Iraq’s capital, Baghdad, in 2006 that injured his right shoulder, right foot, fractured vertebrae and caused a traumatic brain injury as well as post-traumatic stress.

He underwent 21 surgeries, spending four years recovering at the Walter Reed National Military Medical Center, in Bethesda, Maryland.

Osborne said he still follows events in Iraq, where