Captain Raymond G. Murphy

Man in cemetery holding American flag with medal on top. From the "Medal of Honor Portrait Collection" project.

Medal of Honor: Portraits of Valor Beyond the Call of Duty

World War II forged an enduring patriotic spirit in our home. I was six years old and those memories are now very faint, except one of a small red, white, and blue service flag that hung in the living room window. It was adorned with three blue stars— representing my brothers Lou, John, and George, who were serving in the Army on foreign soil. to this day, that small service banner still remains seared in my memory. In January 1999, I embarked on a photo-graphic quest to honor the millions of veterans like My brothers, whose lives, in by war, changed history—the country's and their own. My first images were of aging men and women in Veterans Hospitals, but after discovering that only 155 recipients of the Medal of Honor were still alive, this project clicked into sharp focus. Initially, my goal was to complete all 155 portraits. But the inescapable grip of mortality took its toll during the next four years. There are now 137 living recipients; a few chose not to participate, and some were reluctant to lace the camera one more time.