Sunday, October 01, 2006

Funeral of a Vietnam MIA hero


Photos by Mark M. Hancock / © The Beaumont Enterprise

The remains of Sgt. Maj. George Ronald Brown await the funeral service at Magnolia Park Cemetery in Dayton, Texas on Friday, Sept. 29, 2006. Sgt. Maj. Brown was reported missing in action (MIA) on March 28, 1968 after he encountered the enemy during a Special Forces operation in Tchepone, Laos. A tooth, contained in the urn, was recently returned as the only remains of the fallen soldier.


Ronda Brown-Pitts cries during the funeral service for Sgt. Maj. George Ronald Brown at Magnolia Park Cemetery in Dayton, Texas. Although the family doesn't believe the tooth actually belonged to their fallen hero, they tired of arguing with the military and decided to accept the remains.


Honor guard members from the HQ-HQ Co. of the U.S. Army Garrison JRTC at Fort Polk, La. depart after firing a salute during the funeral service for Sgt. Maj. George Ronald Brown at Magnolia Park Cemetery.

Please read "Daughter doesn't believe remains are those of war hero dad" by F.A. Krift.
 

2 comments:

Michael said...

I like your shot of the woman crying with the soldiers behind her.

When ever I shoot something emotional where people are crying, I have a hard time figuring out how tight to come in on the subject. Often I get in too tight and I think the photo loses context. This one was nicely done.

Mark M. Hancock said...

Thanks. :-)
I have the ultra-tight shots, but I wanted to keep context (soldier's funeral).
The other problem is lighting. The soldiers are in sunlight while she's in shadow under the tent. Since this wasn't as emotionally raw as other funerals (an accidental toddler death perhaps), she was OK with me using a flash. It would've been extremely difficult on many levels had it been the example above.