Like many other veterans of the Vietnam conflict, Michael Cousino, a disabled former Marine from Gouverneur, New York, continues to struggle with bad memories and daily life adjustments. Unlike many other veterans, he has found an outlet for his frustrations and grief. He creates miniature replicas of his Vietnam experiences. In these astonishingly detailed dioramas, he recalls scenes of battle and related episodes that reflect his life of some thirty years ago.

His dioramas are on a 1:35 scale, replete with intricacies that grip his painful past. He began this work in 1983, as he says,...