A few of the flags on display at Naperville’s old department of public works facility.
To me, the best way to put all the 9/11 hoopla to bed was to shoot a sparsely attended ceremony this morning that mostly comprised of first-responders paying respects to the fellow 411 fire and police personnel who died in the attacks on September 11, 2001.
A great point was made in the remarks this morning: The Master Chief of the local Jr. ROTC mentioned that for all his life he had been thanking members of the military for their service, but it wasn’t until recently that it dawned on him that he needed to thank police officers and firefighters who put their lives on the line for the public day in and day out, right here on our own soil.
At the next opportunity, everyone should take the time to thank a police officer or firefighter for their service to their community and their country.
From the first of two Operation Welcome Home assignments today. And I got to run red lights in the motorcade!
This is Hershel “Woody” Williams. That’s a Medal of Honor around his neck. Of the 27 men awarded the medal for their actions during the Battle of Iwo Jima, only 13 of them made it off the island. Of those 13, Woody is the last that remains.
It was awesome to be able to photograph a living piece of history.
Shot a parade yesterday. Here’s an outtake.
Noon isn’t the best time to shoot because of the angle of the sun. But sometimes you can trade nice light for a perfect gust of wind and call it even.
Happy Memorial Day.
Shot one of my favorite types of assignments yesterday: Welcoming home a soldier. Like a lot of assignments, if you’ve been to one, you’ve been to them all, but there’s just something about the energy and emotion of these that lets you make something interesting at each one. Plus it’s just a great thing to see so many family, friends and complete strangers come out to support a soldier returning home from overseas.
Best National Anthem EVER.
This is good, but it’s not the best. For that, try this version.
Same city, same song, much louder crowd.
We know how to do the anthem right in Chicago.
Rachel and I happened across a Welcome Home gathering for a local soldier yesterday as we were heading out for the afternoon. There were easily 100 people lining the street leading to this soldier’s home, waving flags and holding signs. I wanted to make a picture of all the flags and people, and be there to see his reaction when he got out of the car, but I could see his police and firetruck escort coming up the road as we were first passing. Living only a few blocks away, I raced home and grabbed my cameras. We missed the arrival and the money shots with the most emotion, but still stopped to observe for a few minutes and I snapped a few photos.
It was an awesome and inspiring sight to see how many people took time out of their Saturday to stand along the side of the road on a blustery, chilly day to welcome home a son, friend, neighbor or perfect stranger.
I think it’s time to start bringing my camera with me everywhere again.
Tonight at the Blackhawks game I stood next to my friend and former roommate as he screamed and cheered through the National Anthem. He’s an Iraq war veteran.
During a TV timeout, two service members were broadcast on the jumbotron — one a current Marine and the other a Vietnam vet. They received a standing ovation from the crowd, as most honorary captains do.
I’ll take either of those any day over a tradition of sneaking a dead, stinking octupus in my shirt to throw on the ice any day of the week.
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