Need some help please...

[matt_paul85]

A few days ago a close friend and coworker of mine was killed in Afghanistan (IED explosion). I wanted to do something for the family and figured a picture would be the best bet. Any ideas on what to do for them? I know this is going to be a hard time for them but I thought something with the American Flag or something along those lines would be a nice tribute to him. I'm a little emotional so the creative process just isn't going for me right now. Any suggestions are greatly appreciated.

 

[Paul M]

A few days ago a close friend and coworker of mine was killed in Afghanistan (IED explosion). I wanted to do something for the family and figured a picture would be the best bet. Any ideas on what to do for them? I know this is going to be a hard time for them but I thought something with the American Flag or something along those lines would be a nice tribute to him. I'm a little emotional so the creative process just isn't going for me right now. Any suggestions are greatly appreciated.

First, I want to send my condolences to you, & your friends family. I can not show my appreciation enough for their extreme sacrifice.
Here is my suggestion...
Ask the family if they would request the Patriot Guard Riders to hold a flag line at the services. If they request it, they will show. There's your photo shoot and formal respect dedication. You can find the PGR (which I am also a member) at http://www.patriotguard.org/

 

[matt_paul85]

First, I want to send my condolences to you, & your friends family. I can not show my appreciation enough for their extreme sacrifice.

Thanks so much. It came as such a shock to everyone, I got a letter from him not a week ago. Hardest thing is knowing he won't get the response I sent back.

Here is my suggestion...
Ask the family if they would request the Patriot Guard Riders to hold a flag line at the services. If they request it, they will show. There's your photo shoot and formal respect dedication. You can find the PGR (which I am also a member) at http://www.patriotguard.org/

Thanks again, I will mention this or get someone who is closer to his parents to mention this to them. (I don't know the parents that well.)

 

[bradster76]

As an Army Vet., I send my warmest regards to you and to our fallen brothers. I wouldn't really know how to set up anything photography wise, maybe the flag, his primary weapon and helmet. Damn, sorry to hear this man. Feffin, ********ing Bush needs to get our boys back! Enuff of this **** over there already.

 

[matt_paul85]

Wasn't sure if I should make a new post or not. If so, just let me know and I will.

An update on the situation here. First off, thanks for the suggestion of the Patriot Guard, fantastic group of men and women there. Very respectful. This picture made it to the front page of the newspaper here in town. I'm surprised it turned out at all since emotions were so high for me. I thought I would share this and and the story that was published about Lt. Donnie Carwile. C&C welcome but don't be too harsh, not easy taking pictures of a friends funeral. Oh, and his wife requested this so no disrespect was done here (we were all friends anyway, just didn't know his parents that well)

U.S. Army 1st Lt. Donnie Carwile was remembered Saturday as a man defined by discipline, determination and duty — his focused drive to serve his country matched only by the tender affection he held for his two little girls.

The husband, father, soldier and former Oxford police officer was laid to rest at Oxford Memorial Cemetery, after some 700 people gathered for his funeral service at North Oxford Baptist Church. He was killed in action in Afghanistan on Aug. 15 at age 29.

“Today we honor him as a fallen hero — but not a forgotten one,” said Bro. Jerry East, the family’s pastor at Yellow Leaf Baptist Church.

“Donnie Carwile did not die in vain. We are a free people today because of men and women just like him.”

Scenes from Carwile’s life shared as a photo slideshow during the service offered a poignant contrast between his military service and family life, showing him under the desert sun with Humvees and fatigues, as well as at birthday parties and carousel rides alongside two grinning girls with ribbons in their hair.

His two daughters, 5-year-old Elizabeth Reese and 3-year-old Avery Claire, did not join their mother, Jennifer, at their father’s funeral.

“When Donnie left them, he said goodbye, and that’s the goodbye they’ll remember,” said Bro. Randy Hope of First Baptist Church of Abbeville, Carwile’s boyhood home church.

‘See you on the high ground’

Speaking through the pastors at Saturday’s funeral were Carwile’s commanding officer in Afghanistan, as well as his father, Lafayette County Sheriff’s Department deputy Dennis Carwile. Donnie Carwile himself was quoted by Hope, in seeking to explain the reasons why he sought to serve overseas in the face of danger.

“I have a duty to serve my country and to lead and mentor young men,” Donnie Carwile had written about two years ago in support of his application to Officer Candidate School.

“This to me makes a good platoon leader. I would like nothing more than to be a platoon leader, helping and looking after young men.”

To get to that point, Donnie Carwile had managed to work his way through college as a police officer while also fulfilling the roles of a husband and father. Of the determination shown by his son in pursuing that course, Dennis Carwile said in a statement read by Hope that his son had achieved what seemed an unreachable goal.

“You are a parent’s pride and joy,” Dennis Carwile wrote. “You set out to follow in my footsteps, but you set higher goals than I could have accomplished.”

From Afghanistan, a statement from Donnie Carwile’s commanding officer, Capt. Roger Hill, relayed how his experience as a law enforcement officer had prepared him and his platoon for their task in building the Afghan police force.

“You did good, Donnie,” East quoted Hill as saying at the infield memorial service held in Afghanistan.

“You always did right by this company, and more importantly, by your men.... We’ll see you on the high ground.”

Showing respect

At the cemetery, mourners stood under umbrellas or bare-headed beneath drizzling rain. Members of the Patriot Guard motorcycle group from Mississippi and surrounding states held American flags and lined the sidewalk along North 16th Street, their presence a tradition in recent years at military funerals.

The route between the church and cemetery was dotted with signs and supporters, as Oxford and Lafayette County neighbors who may not have known the family sought ways to show their support from the sidelines.

A sign reading “You are our hero, Donnie” was stretched along North Lamar Boulevard in front of Three-Way Grocery. At Shivers’ Towing, an American flag was hoisted above the road by the hook of a tow truck.

As the funeral procession passed a parking lot just south of the church, Greg Hensley stood saluting the line of cars as his wife, Pamela, and their four children held their hands to their hearts.

“Freedom isn’t free,” said Hensley, a U.S. Army veteran of the Persian Gulf War who today operates a plumbing and electric company.

The Hensleys, joined by Pamela’s boss Ryland Sneed of Precision Engineering, communicated silent solidarity with the passing procession by hanging an American flag and Greg Hensley’s service uniform in the open rear door of their SUV.

“This man gave his life,” said Hensley, who served as a sergeant with the 101st Airborne Division.

“I didn’t have to pay this price,” he said. “The least we can do is take a few minutes to pay respect and to honor what he stood for.”


Please leave your opinions about the war at the door. Regardless of your feelings he died for what HE believed in, our freedom here in the states. Whether you agree or not he gave his life for all of us.

 

[Paul M]

matt_paul85,
Again, I'm sorry for your loss and I am sorry I wasn't able to ride up to attend myself as a PGR member myself I try to attend as many as possible but can't get to them all. With that said, please understand the good in the next part I am going to mention keeping in mind it has nothing to do with the event itself.
Congrats on being published! That looks like the "money shot" that photojournalists would probably be looking for. I know it was hard attending and trying to focus while being personally involved, but you definitely captured the moment.
The picture could use some more contrast IMO but other than that you got it. :thumbup:

Standing by in Florida

 

[matt_paul85]

The picture could use some more contrast IMO but other than that you got it. :thumbup:

Thanks again for the support. The PGR guys that came were great. It was an all around gloomy day, heavy clouds and rain, with that and me still being a n00b and like we both mentioned the emotional aspects, I just couldn't concentrate on what to do. I just took the picture and didn't think twice about it. Plus, I was on a ladder, (with myself having been disable in the line of duty) getting on the ladder was a feet in itself. All in all, he has been honored the way he should have been. Thanks for the comment on the picture.