I was assigned to shoot standalone photos (no story or reporter) of two Veterans Day events Tuesday: New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie, the Adjutant General of N.J. and the local U.S. Congressman marking the day at Brig. Gen. William C. Doyle Veterans Memorial Cemetery in North Hanover Township, Burlington County...
...and U.S. Sen. Cory Booker, the NJ Senate President and the local Congressman-elect touring nearby Joint Base McGuire-Dix-Lakehurst - and serving lunch to service members in the dining hall on base.
Nothing wrong with those. They are are good men, the politicians, taking the time to give back to those to serve our country. But I didn't want all of my Veterans Day coverage to be bigwigs. I wanted to show regular folks observing the holiday as well, and even at the 11th hour of the 11th day of the 11th month cemetery ceremony, I tried to shoot the non-podium participants.
As I was leaving, driving to the military base for my next assignment at noon, I could see all around the cemetery relatives walking to grave sites carrying flags, flowers, beer bottles, and chairs. "Too bad I have to leave already."
That thought stayed with me as I finished the second assignment, and was done editing and sending my photos from the Wendy's outside the Ft. Dix gate, so I checked with my editor, and headed by to the cemetery.
The small group was alone on the hill, and I just saw one car parked nearby, so I assumed they were together. I kept an eye on them as I continued to drive around the cemetery, shooting other photos but not really liking what I was finding. "My" group was still taking at the top of the hill, so I figured it was as good a time as any to drive up and approach them for both names and permission to use their photo.
Kevin Welsh immediately said, "here's your story!" as I introduced myself. He, his wife Teresa and 15 year old son Noah has just met 93 year old Therese Hall, and had spent the past twenty minutes listening to her story.
The Welshes of New Egypt brought their son Noah, 15, to mark Veterans Day at Burlington County, New Jersey's Brig. Gen. William C. Doyle Veterans Memorial Cemetery. Kevin, a member of the N.J. Army National Guard's 50th Infantry Brigade Combat Team - he just returned recently from deployment in the Pacific - asked Noah how the school observed the day.
"I asked what they did in school today, and he said, 'Nothing.' " So the elder Welsh said, "We're going to take us some flags."
The Welshes don't have anyone buried there, but joined those who did, walking the cemetery hills and reading the grave markers and planting flags.
Along the way they met Hall, of nearby Jacksonville, at the grave site of her husband, Paul Edward Hall.
That's the scene I witnessed from 300 yards away, at the bottom of the hill. The family listened as Hall shared how as 19-year-old Therese Legoux of Evreux, Normandy, she met Paul shortly after he arrived in France on D-Day. They were married and moved to New Jersey after the war. He was with the Army Air Corps, and when it later became the U.S. Air Force, he served again in both Korea and Vietnam. He died on Nov. 15, 1987, a week shy of his 77th birthday. Therese Hall had visited his grave weekly but lately it's been just monthly.
The Welshes took pictures, exchanged phone numbers and e-mail addresses, and promised to get together for more stories. Click here for more of my photos.