A few years ago, I was driving along State Road 26 on my way to Fort Wayne for a wedding. Along the way in Kokomo, there was something that caught my eye. You began to see all this signage thanking the Veterans for their service, and then you notice this large campground with a soldier's guard tower there almost appearing to overlook the grounds. From there, I began to investigate the landmark and I discovered that one of the country's largest reunions of Vietnam Veterans gathered there every year.

I decided that this year, I was going to go and make some photos at the event. I wasn't quite sure what to expect though. I'm not very familiar with the conflict, I don't know anyone personally that was involved in the war. My father's generation came after, and my grandfather's generation came well before. It is a war that really no one enjoys talking about. I arrived at the campgrounds Saturday afternoon, and the first thing I saw were hundreds of cars lining both sides of the road. I found a spot to park, made my way to the entrance and then I began to wander. Part of my process while there was to make sure I took some portraits of the Veterans. You can see them here.

Rain storms had been making their way through Indiana all morning. It seemed just as I arrived, and begun to make my way around that the rain became unbearable. A group of Veterans hollered over to me, and I took shelter under their canopy as the rain continued to pour down. I explained who I was, and they began to just tell me stories about their experiences. What it was like to go off to war as a 19...20....21 years old, how they were treated when they got home and what its been like coming to this reunion every year. The rain eventually let up, and I continued on my way. Every where I went, people asked me about my cameras and why I was there. I began to spend more and more time with different groups. Hearing even more stories. Some group offered me food, others offered just a chair to relax and listen to the Alabama vs. Ole Miss football game. I felt like I was being welcomed, not just an outside stranger. I met fathers and sons, the later having served in some of our country's more recent conflicts in Africa and the Middle East. The event may have started for those men who served in Vietnam, but its evolved into a healing process for all Veterans. The older generation knows what its like to come back to little support, and remembering what they had to do there.

It was a very powerful day by the end. These men I met, and their stories will stay with me forever. They called the area the "Healing Fields," and that's exactly what it felt like. There were no fights, no conflicts, just Veterans there supporting each other with their common bonds.