Photographer captures 250 veterans’ portraits to honor service

(Aging Untold) — Photographs are powerful. For photographer Mikel Conrad, they are a way to tell the story of those who put their lives on the line for the country’s future.

Ron Camillo is one of hundreds featured in Conrad’s “250 Faces of Service & Sacrifice.”

“Active duty 1950-51. I can remember like yesterday, Korea. The problem is I saw things over there I can’t talk about,” Camillo said.

Camillo is a Korean War veteran who served with the 1st Marine Division and the 5th Marines.

“Just their willingness to serve and just do what they had to do and not beat their chest about it. ... They just went out and did what they had to do,” Conrad said.

Conrad’s vision is a portfolio made for the country’s 250th birthday so the stories of these heroes can still be told long after they are gone.

Aging Untold host and gerontologist “Sam” Cradduck said these portraits do more than capture a face.

“You know, so many of our veterans come back feeling unseen. And this gives them that, I see you and I hear you and I’m honoring you, and what you did mattered. What you did for all of us matters so much. And it is so dignifying and shows so much respect for our veterans,” Cradduck said.

This is about honor and respect, Cradduck said.

“And so, when we take away the vanity side and we just say, we want to honor you, not we want to capture you, we want to honor you, it gets rid of some of the apprehension of sitting in front of the lens,” she said.

The “250 Faces of Service & Sacrifice” project is a tribute to the men and women who have kept the country’s history in focus.

“We’re all tied together. We’re all brothers,” veteran Gene Acker said.