For Memorial Day: Who was Oskar Schindler, really? What happened the night the U.S.S. Indianapolis sunk? What difference can a photo make for a military family?
For military families, Hearts Apart makes memories that can survive anything
Ross Whitaker lives in San Clemente. By day, he works in commercial photography. When he isn’t getting paid to shoot Kix ads, Whittaker volunteers for Hearts Apart: a nonprofit organization that gives military families a free, professional portrait session before deployment. The family can keep the photos at home and the soldier gets a vinyl bifold card with four pictures that can withstand dirt, rain, water—almost anything a war can bring.
"It’s absolutely pure to photograph someone’s family and give them the pictures, and see them moved," said Whitaker.
"My first shooting with Hearts Apart was really fantastic. Since I live on the edge of Camp Pendleton in Southern California, I have Marines. All Marines. So I had a gunnery sergeant, and his wife, and his two young boys. I believe he was going to the South China Sea. We usually go either to my home or we go to venues, so we went up to the Rancho San Clemente Tennis Club. And it was very posh. They have a bridal changing room there."
Hearts Apart was founded last year in North Carolina by photographer Brownie Harris and businessman Brett Martin. For Harris, it didn't take long for him to realize the impact of his work. "After the first shoot, one of the Marine wives said to us when they were leaving the studio," said Harris.
"She was crying and she said 'We didn’t think anyone cared in this country.'"
Hearts Apart is now in over 40 states. And among its 300 plus photographers, there are professional artists, commercial photographers and Pulitzer Prize winners—all trying the best they can to keep families connected. Families like Amy and Tim McCoy, of Helendale, a small community halfway between Victorville and Barstow on Route 66.
Amy and Tim are both Army reservists, and they met when they were both on active duty. "It was a love hate relationship at first," said Amy at home, her daughter Sami sitting nearby.
Tim, who's currently deployed in Afghanistan, chimed in via Skype. "It was definitely a hate relationship at first. She took a book of mine, when I first met her," he said. "It was a patrol book."
"He showed up at the unit and he carried that thing everywhere," said Amy.
"And after watching him for most of the day, I decided to take it and watch him freak out. And freak out he did! We were married for about a month when I got deployed with the Navy for six months. So our first five years, over half of that was apart. It’s something we’ve always done, we don’t know any different to be honest with you."
The McCoys got their pictures taken last Summer, just before Tim's most recent deployment—David Kennerly, a former white house photographer was behind the lens. For the McCoy’s, that day was more than just a photo session. "With David giving us time, and people like him dedicating their time, it does show you more that you care," said Tim.
"We’ve come a long way from the time that the soldiers and men and women were treated the way we were during like Vietnam. You go to the airport, some airports, people don’t recognize you. Others, they actually go over and hug you. Same thing with the photo. You have a photographer that… he does this because he wants to, not because he has to."
Sitting at the kitchen table, in front of a laptop, Amy chimed in: "He’s given up his time, literally his money and livelihood to spend all day with us," she said. "I mean, it was… it was an honor."
If you know photography, makeup, or just want to lend a hand, Hearts Apart can use you.
Fullerton's Leon Leyson - Youngest Schindler Jew
Freelance journalist Camille Hahn interviews her father-in-law, Leon Leyson, 82. Looking at his modest home in Fullerton, you wouldn't guess the remarkable story of the man who lives inside. Leyson was the youngest person on Schindler's list.
Fisher House - Easing a Family's Loss
Off-Ramp host John Rabe talks with Robert Stanton, 50, whose son, Marine Corporal Jordan Stanton, 20, was killed in action in Afghanistan in March. What helped get the Stanton's through it was a non-profit group called Fisher House, which supports families of Marine casualties.
Listen to the interview here, and CLICK THROUGH for a link to Fisher House.
(Thumbnail: Cpl Stanton with fiancee Julie Dickson, courtesy Nick Stanton.)
Memorial Day, WWII a family affair for Kevin Ferguson
8/1/2011 - A SAD UPDATE: Kevin's Grandmother passed away early Sunday morning. She was 87. Team Off-Ramp and all of KPCC send condolences to Kevin's family.
For most historians, there are few stories more compelling than that of the USS Indianapolis: a heavy cruiser that had seen battle for nearly all of World War Two. Its final voyage was one of the most integral, yet disastrous missions in the history of the US Navy. And for Off-Ramp producer Kevin Ferguson, it’s a story that hits very close to home.
Supporting the Combat Troops - Meet Marine Cpl. Rene Casillas
Not every story on Memorial Day needs to be drama from the battlefield. An army travels on its stomach, its vehicle maintenance facilities, its electricians ... You get the picture. Marine Corporal Rene Casillas is 27, lives in Southern California, and served two tours of duty in Iraq before he was discharged in 2009. Casillas spoke with Off-Ramp host John Rabe about his path into the Marines, and what he found there.
Veteran reporters remember covering the Vietnam War
Earlier this month, veteran reporters, photographers and editors from all over the country met at Brodard Chateau in Garden Grove for lunch. It was called the "Old Hacks Reunion," a gathering of reporters who all covered the war in Vietnam. Off-Ramp producer Kevin Ferguson stopped by.
Louis Zamperini's epic life story
UPDATE 7/3/2014: Olympian and World War 2 vet Louis Zamperini died yesterday of pneumonia; he was 97. Zamperini was also a spellbinding storyteller, and in 2010 he regaled a packed Crawford Family Forum with tales of his long and remarkable life.
Epic in the most literal sense possible: Zamperini's life plays out like a grandiose American hero's tale. Louis Zamperini is a living legend you probably have never heard of, but you've seen his name everywhere. Listen to the on-air version by clicking on the first icon, listen to the whole Olympic Panel by clicking on the second!
You might have seen a football game Torrance High School’s Zamperini Stadium, or landed an airplane Zamperini Field, even Zamperini Plaza, at the front of USC’s track and field stadium. They’re all named after Louis Zamperini. A former Olympic track runner, World War Two veteran and Los Angeles native who at 93 years old shares his story to this day. This past June, at KPCC’s Crawford Family Forum, Zamperini spoke with Fellow Olympian John Naber about how he ended up in the 1936 Olympics in Berlin, met Hitler, stole a Nazi flag, served in the airforce, survived for a month and half on a life raft in the Pacific, and endured years of life in captivity as a Japanese prisoner of war.