I had the opportunity to go on the World War II Honor Flight last year, and was fortunate to make the same flight again this year. It’s a whirlwind, 20-hour, day-long trip to Washington D.C. with our WWII & Korean War Veterans. It gives them a chance to see the memorials in the nation’s capitol that were created and dedicated to them.

It all begins as a trip that many of the veterans aren’t sure they want to make, and usually go, only because their family members talk them into it. But all that changes when they enter the concourse at the Baltimore Washington International Airport. This year, 65 U.S. Naval Academy Cadets formed a receiving line saluting and thanking the vets for their service. At the same time, other travelers in the concourse begin gathering to clap and cheer. Its part planned, part impromptu, and very moving.

When most people think of the soldiers returning home, the iconic image that comes to mind is the Alfred Eisenstaedt photo of the sailor kissing a woman, who was a complete stranger, in Times Square on VJ Day, August 1945. But in reality, most of the veterans came home in 1946, and simply went back to life. So for these Kentucky veterans, the Honor Flight became their long, overdue, Thank You parade!

Unfortunately, we are losing our World War II veterans at a rate of 1,500 per day. Several of the vets on the 2010 trip passed away between October and when the story ran in the May 2011 issue of Kentucky Living. This is what makes it so special to the veterans, and the guardians who go, we all know in an unspoken way that this is the last parade for the men who gave so much.

I said it last year, and I’ll say it again, The Honor Flights have been the most touching stories that I’ve ever worked on as a photographer.

Sen. Bob Dole, a WWII veteran himself, is often on hand to greet veterans at the WWII Memorial.

I’ve tried to photograph the World War II Memorial on seven separate trips to DC. I’ve worked every angle that I can think of, with every lens that I own.
But fittingly enough, just like the war itself, you can not capture it from one single angle. It’s hands down my favorite attraction in Washington.

Forrest Sparrow meets a Dominique Potier from Liege, Belgium. Sparrow was wounded and hospitalized at the Battle of the Bulge in Potier’s hometown of Liege.
Potier couldn’t thank him enough for saving his country and his hometown.
The two men simply met by chance on this day at the WWII memorial!

Oddly enough, the Korean War Memorial tends to evoke a little more emotion than the WWII Memorial.

Chow time!!!

The Rolling Thunder brought the vets back into Baltimore at the end of the day.

On the plane ride back home, the men received “mail call” from school kids all over the state.

Returning to the airport in Louisville, to a reception and parade of over 200 people was the emotional straw that broke the camel’s back.
You would have to have been a robot not to cry!

This is the parade that most of the Kentucky veterans missed out on.
Photo by Alfred Eisenstaedt

I was working on UK’s campus this morning and found this leaf blower shots. Hard to believe November is already here.

I’ve never been a huge fan of Country Music, but I have a deep, deep respect for those artist who have defined themselves with a distinct style, such as Johnny Cash, Dwight Yoakam, and Willie Nelson. I’m talking about the type of style, that when you hear a song of theirs, you automatically see a picture in your mind of what they look like and who they are. Music is no different than any other form of art. Style is what stands the test of time. Fashion comes and goes with the wind and the seasons, but style is enduring. It’s symmetric. It’s your foundation, your roots. Your faith is part of your style, and fashion always adapts to your style.

Willie Nelson will always be an artist who has his own style. I had the opportunity to photograph him a couple of weeks ago at the brand new Center for the Arts on Eastern’s campus. Willie followed another man of style who performed there the week before, BB King.

There were two aspects of Willie’s style that I wanted to capture in photos, his guitar and his hair. At the same time, I wanted capture a sense of place with the new 2,500 capacity Center for the Arts. I’ve seen many, many concerts in my time at Rupp Arena, and heck, I even remember most of them. But the older I get, the more I appreciate a good concert, with a sound mind, in a small venue. One of these days, my dream is to catch Nora Jones at the Ryman in Nashville.

However, there was one part of Willie’s style that deserved questioning. He was The Man from head to ankle, but from the ankles down he was showing signs of his age in ways that his voice did not. He was clad in black, except for his gray New Balance tennis shoes. But that’s the beauty of style, piss on what everyone else does and thinks! Your style belongs to you. It’s a mirror image of your personality. Age creeps up on all us in its own little way. I’ll accept the New Balance shoes if that’s what it takes to get a legend like this on stage. Rock on Willie!!!

I’ll end with this. I’ve never been one to collect autographs from the celebrities that photography allows me to encounter. I’ve always felt my photos were more valuable than a signature. As Willie and his crew were leaving, and had just done a small VIP session in the basement of the Arts Center, he turned and went to shake my hand. When he did, he dropped a blue Sharpie on the floor. I picked it up and handed it to him. He looked me in the eye, as time stood still, as if he was sizing me up. He shook my hand, thanked me and walked out the door to his tour bus.

I can’t sell that moment on Ebay, but knowing that me and his Sharpie were the only things standing between this musical legend and his herbal night cap…. was priceless!