May 12 | Camp Ripley
"Writer Trudy Hahn and I had this rather wonderful assignment: Do a story and photos about the guys who actually jumped out of airplanes into enemy-held France during the 1944 D-Day invasion. I felt so honored to have a chance to give them one more opportunity to be seen and appreciated for what they did. They all came quite a distance to do the photo in the Military Museum at Camp Ripley along with their wives, children and others who came to watch. I asked the director of the museum to literally disassemble a couple of large display cases that I wanted to use as background, and to
borrow some original gear, and for a step ladder. I set up some lights, asked the men to organize themselves, climbed the ladder - and for a few magical moments these incredible men presented themselves with such pride and dignity that as I finished taking their picture, my eyes were filled with tears. I really hoped the picture 'turned out.' (This photo ran May 31, 2004 as virtually the entire cover of Variety, so I guess it DID turn out.)" |
