TAMPA, Fla. — Veterans Day is upon us, and the Florida Museum of Photographic Arts is honoring our service members, past and present, with a new exhibit featuring hundreds of photos taken by our men and women in uniform, dating back to World War I.
There is a saying, “a picture is worth 1,000 words,” and that’s never been more evident than in the exhibit, “The Soldier’s Lens.”
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“I just happened to be going through a bunch of old files, and I was cleaning out photos and most of them I was throwing away, and I said, ‘well maybe some of these would be worth exposing,”’ said Vietnam Veteran, Phillip Casey.
Casey is one of hundreds of veterans and active-duty military to have their personal photos of military life brought to the forefront.
“In your brain you have five drawers, three of them you open and close every day, the last two you very seldom open, and this is one of them,” said Casey referring to all the memories that come flooding back as be looks at the photos on the wall.
Co-founder and Curator, Alexis Muellner, says it’s more than an exhibit; it’s a hall of heroes.
“It’s really about the people who answered the call to submit to this exhibition, but more importantly answered the call of service, helping people gain an understanding about what that life is like on all fronts and the kinds of sacrifices that families and people made in defense of all we hold dear in this nation,” said Muellner.
Paula Buffs father, Major Clifton Alton Junior, spent 23 years in the Army. He left behind an entire album of photos.
“These aren’t professional photographs, these are like little tiny snap shots that my dad took with some kind of little tiny camera and then had them developed, all black and white, no color,” said Buffs “I just felt like it was really important to be able to say and show that he was so proud of what he did and we are proud of him of course.”
Then there’s Marine Corps Veteran Richard Lounders. He still remembers taking a photo of a Vietnamese village more than 50 years ago.
“I carried that picture with me all through the time I was in Vietnam,” said Lounders, who was amazed it made it all the way to a museum.
The museum plans to make this exhibit an annual Veterans Day tradition and hopes to be a voice in the community for all those who served.
“The kind of project that I think has sustainable legs,” said Muellner. “People will make an emotional connection, and we heard from a lot of veterans that this is very therapeutic as well.”
“The Soldier’s Lens” will be on display through January 25.
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