"We take great solace in knowing where our heroes are buried."
replied "Dr. Donald Mallard" on a recent N.C.I.S. episode. These words have become the driving force behind my taking pictures of headstones. I started last year when my sisters were trying to piece together our family history based on a diary my grandmother wrote in 1944. We tried to find the headstones of those mentioned, but were not having any success because the cemeteries in the area have not been well photographed.
But alas, I live in Texas, far from my family home. I thought I would be able to help other "searcher" and start taking pictures of headstones at a cemetery close to where I work. Actually nothing is close to this cemetery but I saw that it had about 17% of the headstones photographed and over a 100 photo requests. I thought if I were going to get involved I would start on one side and take photos of all the headstones because (statistically) four of five would not be photographed.
South Texas is HOT even in the early morning. I am in the process of taking the photos in row order so if I hit on a requested photo - Lucky you - it was in a row I photographed! Stinging ants, stickers, wasps, bees, pocket gophers, and poisonous snakes find these headstones a cool place to live under. So I don't move anything, even if it is blocking a clear shot of the stone. I apologize if the picture is not perfect.
The headstones have sparked a curiosity to learn about the history of the area. I am more appreciative for the length of my life and places I have been able to visit. Jesus Christ is still in control. I have been angered at the way some have been memorialized. I have cried preparing pictures for publication, deeply saddened by the loss of life. I am moved by the hand-made memorials - so simple, yet so poignant - hoping I am that well loved. I have been deeply humbled as I take the photos, grateful for the ultimate sacrifice made by another from different countries, as well as my own, for my freedoms. Now I can put a name and place to another. I only wished I could have know them.
There is great comfort in knowing where the final resting place of a loved one or comrade in arms is located. How many hopes and dreams are buried there?

"We take great solace in knowing where our heroes are buried."
replied "Dr. Donald Mallard" on a recent N.C.I.S. episode. These words have become the driving force behind my taking pictures of headstones. I started last year when my sisters were trying to piece together our family history based on a diary my grandmother wrote in 1944. We tried to find the headstones of those mentioned, but were not having any success because the cemeteries in the area have not been well photographed.
But alas, I live in Texas, far from my family home. I thought I would be able to help other "searcher" and start taking pictures of headstones at a cemetery close to where I work. Actually nothing is close to this cemetery but I saw that it had about 17% of the headstones photographed and over a 100 photo requests. I thought if I were going to get involved I would start on one side and take photos of all the headstones because (statistically) four of five would not be photographed.
South Texas is HOT even in the early morning. I am in the process of taking the photos in row order so if I hit on a requested photo - Lucky you - it was in a row I photographed! Stinging ants, stickers, wasps, bees, pocket gophers, and poisonous snakes find these headstones a cool place to live under. So I don't move anything, even if it is blocking a clear shot of the stone. I apologize if the picture is not perfect.
The headstones have sparked a curiosity to learn about the history of the area. I am more appreciative for the length of my life and places I have been able to visit. Jesus Christ is still in control. I have been angered at the way some have been memorialized. I have cried preparing pictures for publication, deeply saddened by the loss of life. I am moved by the hand-made memorials - so simple, yet so poignant - hoping I am that well loved. I have been deeply humbled as I take the photos, grateful for the ultimate sacrifice made by another from different countries, as well as my own, for my freedoms. Now I can put a name and place to another. I only wished I could have know them.
There is great comfort in knowing where the final resting place of a loved one or comrade in arms is located. How many hopes and dreams are buried there?