It's terribly grainy and not as well composed as I'd like but this photo taken two days ago speaks to me more than just about any other. Rocco Moretto is a WWII Vet that I've known for years from my frequent shoots of the Veterans on Veteran's Day. When Lockheed Martin approached me to shoot their new ad campaign featuring Veterans, Rocco (or Rocky as we all call him) was one of my first submissions for casting. We began shooting the campaign several weeks ago and Rocky and I got to know each other even better. I adore him and we speak quite often if only for me to hear his voice and thank him again for being a new hero in my world. Rocky was in Company C comprised of 220 soldiers that landed on Omaha Beach in Normandy on D Day. Of those 220, only 2 made it to the Czech border for VE Day. Rocky called me a week or so ago to tell me that his VFW (Veterans of Foreign Wars) Post in Queens was being renamed in his honor and would I be his guest. I gave Rocky a large print from our recent shoot (and also one for his post) and he cried. Which made me cry. And then I hugged this 90+ year old man and thought of all the unsung heroes living amongst us.
I took in the event and watched as an aging hero was celebrated. This particular moment had a truly incredible singer recreating a USO show (for one) and I can't look at it without smiling and getting kinda mushy because I have a true hero in my life and he is as humble and gracious and magnificent as I could imagine (and then some).
So here's a bad photo that could be one of my greatest photos ever.
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