Soldiers Welcomed Home

I had the day off yesterday and was enjoying the day by visiting a friends house when I unexpectedly got a call from a photo editor with The Advocate Newspaper of Baton Rouge to go to cover the arrival of some Louisiana National Guard soldiers that were returning from deployment in Iraq. I had never shot one of these military homecoming ceremonies before but I had an idea of what to expect from seeing a newspaper photographer friend Matt Bush with the Hattiesburg American and the photos he created in several of these emotional ceremonies. The pictures of my buddy Matt Bush took were inspiring and emotional images and I set out to do something like what I saw from Matt.

Louisiana Governor, Bobby Jindal would be on hand to welcome back the soldiers, but my focus would be on the families and their emotional reunions with their families as they got off buses and saw their wives, children, mothers, fathers and other family and friends for the first time in months.

It was a hectic scene as soldiers quickly scanned the crowd of awaiting family members for their own family and once a solider locks eyes with their family they make a bee-line and are met with an emotional embrace, below are a few of my favorite shots as families were re-united after being an ocean apart.

The first photo, shown below my favorite from the day and apparently my editors with the Baton Rouge Advocate also agreed as the photo was run large in the center of the front page of the newspaper.

May 12, 2010 – SSG Robert Hale of Lake Charles is greeted by his wife Danielle and son Bryce as members of the Louisiana Army National Guard’s 204th Theater Airfield Operations Group were welcomed back from their overseas deployment in support of Operation Iraqi Freedom in Iraq and Operation Enduring Freedom in Afghanistan on Wednesday, May 12, 2010 at the Hammond Army Aviation Support Facility in Hammond, La. (Photo by: Derick Hingle/The Advocate)

Here are a few more out takes of the same family.

The scene for this reunion was more hectic that I expected, and was over a lot faster than I expected, I had to quickly get pictures of the emotional reunion of families and get their information for my captions, the families were very cooperative and very gracious that I was there covering the return of the soldiers to the U.S.

May 12, 2010 – Beth Devine of Belle Chase, La hugs her son Specialist, Brett Pylant as family members welcomed home soldiers of the Louisiana Army National Guard’s 204th Theater Airfield Operations Group back from their overseas deployment in support of Operation Iraqi Freedom in Iraq and Operation Enduring Freedom in Afghanistan on Wednesday, May 12, 2010 at the Hammond Army Aviation Support Facility in Hammond, La. (Photo by: Derick Hingle/The Advocate)

May 12, 2010 – Family members welcome home soldiers of the Louisiana Army National Guard’s 204th Theater Airfield Operations Group back from their overseas deployment in support of Operation Iraqi Freedom in Iraq and Operation Enduring Freedom in Afghanistan on Wednesday, May 12, 2010 at the Hammond Army Aviation Support Facility in Hammond, La. (Photo by: Derick Hingle/The Advocate)

It was another new experience for me, as I have said before, I have concentrated most of my efforts with sports, but I’m starting to branch out, and I have to admit it was special being there with these families as the soldiers of the Louisiana Army National Guard’s 204th Theater Airfield Operations Group were welcomed back to U.S. soil.

Here is a look at the front page of today’s The Advocate featuring several of my photos from the welcome home ceremonies.

Check out the article online, or better yet pick up a copy of today’s paper.