Like many did after 9/11, I enlisted in the Army in 2003 when I graduated high school and signed up to be an infantry soldier. I’ll never forget the look on my grandfather’s face when he witnessed me swearing in at the Army processing center.

Pride for his fellow soldier.
The knowledge of what I would probably encounter as an infantryman.
Excitement that he could brag about his "infantry grandson" to all of his friends.

The camaraderie between us was unbreakable. We were already family but now we were brothers. Eighteen months later, I deployed to Afghanistan with 500 other soldiers. The last time I saw him before I left I remember was a “man’s moment.” No tears, no extra words. Just a hard hug, a hand shake, and a subtle nod for the job that I was to focus on.

Now, more than ten years after my deployment, I work as a photographer and in 2015, I began to conceptualize a project to photograph my grandpa and the members of VFW Post 10523. He was a Korean War veteran, a former infantry soldier like me, and I never remembered seeing any professional photos of him around the house. I realized that this veteran, this hero of mine, he was my Grandpa. He was family and deserved to have his legacy preserved and seeing that he was connected to countless other veterans, that made them family to me as well.

Buying a plane ticket to Ohio, I planned to meet with various veterans over three days and photograph them. What ended up happening was I was given just one hour to meet with twenty veterans before they joined in on the local festivities for Veteran’s Day. Shot on a distressed, blue backdrop, we laughed and shared stories from the past, creating imagery that would allow parts of their legacy to be preserved for themselves and their families.

Now, four years later, I am honored to have captured similar portraits of veterans at the 100th Veteran’s Day Parade in New York City. As the largest celebration of veterans in the US, it was incredible to witness firsthand the honor that these men and women were bestowed upon by New York City. The attention to detail and extravagance that was afforded these veterans was second to none and to have been able to both capture and “walk” the parade as a veteran is an honor I will not forget.

I’m excited to be able to share these images publicly now in a format that is most fitting for its subject matter. Shot on an olive-green, canvas backdrop from Gravity Backdrops, the images throughout this site are of the men and women I have had the distinct privilege of meeting. These are moments I don’t take for granted ever, especially considering the extraordinary sacrifices made by those pictured here. I genuinely look forward to continuing to work on this project and photographing the next generation of veterans to share their details and stories for years to come.