War Veteran
My Grandfather, Robert Melroy Ballard, served in World War II as a paratrooper in the 11th division. On Sunday, I had the great opportunity to photograph a few of his Army belongings as he told Luisa and I of his experiences of being in the War. Here, he holds his dog tags, which show his name, ID number, blood type and religion. Back then, they would not let him put LDS, so they put "P" for Protestant. He even made some extra tags with LDS on them, and his commanding officer threw them away.
He tells of a time they were attacked in the jungles of Manila. Each Japanese soldier would carry one of these flags with them at all times. A member of his division found this flag, but he already had one, so he gave it my Grandfather. More than sixty years later, you can still make out small blood stains and the Japanese symbols of encouraging words of good luck and love from friends and family to the Japanese soldier.
6 comments:
Sweetheart,
As one who was there to witness the display of these precious artifacts, I am amazed, but not necessarily surprised to see your depiction in such detailed clarity. Grandpa is an amazing man, and the stories he had to tell were beautiful. Fortunately, even if we were not able to record his words verbatim this time, you're pictures tell the story and ring the bells of history and liberty and heroes past. They are gorgeous. I am so proud of you.
Love,
Your Adoring Wife
Our love for MelRoy [and the many soldiers who have sacrificed so much for our freedoms] makes this a very powerful and emotional set of photographs. Your work is astoundingly beautiful! Perhaps your best work yet. I especially love the first photograph of MelRoy's hands, holding his dog tags. I also very much appreciate the way you shot the Japanese flag--like a topographical map, a foreign wilderness. I am impressed with the wrinkled texture of the flag. It is similar to the texture of MelRoy's hands: old and worn, each telling a story from the past.
You have captured a piece of that story--told with sober truth. You have also honored a great man. Both you and Luisa--with your love, your visits, and now your photographs--have blessed those we dearly love. Mom and I cannot thank you enough!
--Dad
Nate the first photo is BY FAR my favorite photo yet. Its awesome, what gift that will be for the family. Keep up the good work! Wow..
Yo Perkes, I need to learn the skills! Hook a brother up!
These are some great pics, I'd like to see more of them. Are there more? This is definitely the sort of collection that should be displayed. Have you looked into doing that? Local libraries, civil/gov bldgs, etc.
Amazing. There's not much more I can say. I love grandpa and seeing these brings us all closer to his devotion and sacrifice for our country.
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