Kyle Holbrook’s name has become a familiar sight on the walls of Steubenville.

During the past couple of years, the work of the muralist who grew up in the Pittsburgh suburb of Wilkinsburg has captured portions of the city’s history.

In 2023, Holbrook painted a Stop the Gun Violence mural inside the entryway to the Northend Market and Deli on North Sixth Street. He returned to the city last year to create the Lewis & Clark and the Corps of Discovery mural on Court Street, across from the Jefferson County Courthouse.

Holbrook is back in town to help restore and refresh the Tuskegee Airmen mural at 421 Washington St.

Created in 2019 by the late artist Claude “Rusty” Baker, the mural has served as a tribute to John and Jerome Edwards, city natives who were members of the Army Air Corps’ 332nd Fighter Group during World War II, the famed Tuskegee Airmen. The unit was made up of Black aviators whose planes bore distinctive red tails.

Both local men were important members of that unit. Jerome was killed in a May 7, 1943, crash when the engine on his fighter plane failed during a takeoff. John had a distinguished career as an aviator, earning recognition that included the Distinguished Flying Cross, Air Medals with Oak Leaf Clusters and a shared Presidential Unit Citation.

That’s why it was important for the community to come together and make the original mural a reality. Holbrook’s work will preserve the key parts of that painting, while adding elements that will highlight the broader legacy of the Tuskegee Airmen and their role in the nation’s military history and the civil rights movement — including other members of the squadron who now will surround the Edwards brothers.

It’s important work that’s centered around a couple of historic milestones: March 14 marked the 80th anniversary of the Tuskegee Airmen’s final combat missions of World War II, and the 50th-annual Tuskegee Airmen National Convention is scheduled to be held Aug. 19-24 in New Orleans.

There’s a lot of Steubenville’s — and the region’s history — included in the 23 pieces of art that make up the City of Murals project. Making sure those stories continue to be shared is important work that is coordinated through the Visitor Center at Historic Fort Steuben.

“If we don’t restore them as they wear, then we start to look bad as a city; we look like we don’t care about our history, because all of these murals are depicting the history of Steubenville,” said Mayor Jerry Barilla, who also serves as president of the fort.

Barilla and Paul Zuros, the fort’s executive director, agree it’s an important project, with Zuros explaining the $8,700 cost to refresh the Tuskegee Airmen display is money that is being well spent and is in keeping with the Visitor Center’s work in commissioning and maintaining the murals.

Holbrook, whose art can be found in many places in Pittsburgh, across the country and around the world, estimates work on the local mural will run through Friday.

“I’m honored to be here,” Holbrook explained. “The two brothers, they’re icons from Steubenville. There are a lot of reasons I’m honored and excited about it.”

Thanks to his efforts, a piece of the city’s history will be refreshed, and the reimagined work will offer a more detailed look at the importance the Tuskegee Airmen had to the war effort and the impact their determination and sacrifices would have on generations to come.