I was very honored to be the Fort Benning Photographer for Dylan Clarke’s’ Airborne Graduation. His grandparents, Georgia and Shirley, drove all the way down from New York City to see him graduate. Since they were the only ones to make it they were representing the entire family. I didn’t actually get to speak with Dylan but his grandparents were great company. As a matter of fact George reminded me quite a lot of my Grandfather who passed a way when I was a young teenager. So it is definitely easy to say I had an instant connection with them both.
While we were there the Fort Benning Airborne Specialists put on a fantastic show for everyone. Four jumpers left a large C17 aircraft from a few thousand feet and performed a HALO ( High Altitude, Low Opening ) jump. You can see in the photos below that they had pink smoke canisters attached to there ankles while they took the dive. This made it much easier for us below to see all the aerobatic maneuvers that were taking place. After about a minute of going a 120+ miles an hour they opened there parachutes and landed on there target.
After a brief ceremony, Dylan made his way out of the group of soldiers and met his grandfather in the middle of the field. It was there that George pinned the wings on Dylan’s uniform. They had just enough time for a quick hug and congratulations.
Thanks Dylan for serving our country and protecting our freedom!
Good Morning,
I am Dylan’s mother. I wanted to take a moment to thank you for this beautiful article! The photo’s were wonderful (even if I am partial)!! It was very touching to get to see first hand the events as I was unable to attend due to the fact I had just been there 3 weeks prior. However more importantly I wanted to say THANK YOU for the acknowledgment of his service! Dylan is my first born and this transition has been difficult….. so thank you for making it a tad bit better.
Sincerely,
Dawn Clarke-Myers
It really was my pleasure to shoot his graduation. My goal was to shoot the event so that his family back home could ever so slightly feel as if they were there as well. I’m very glad you liked them and thanks so much for the kind comment.
This post made me cry. What a beautiful way to commemorate this! Perfect post. Dylan looks so young. I love the grandparents picture. And also the pinning. And the hug. The hug is definitely my favorite. I wish him all the best in his military career. Thank you for fighting for our freedom. We are blessed.
Thanks so much Kaishon! It was an amazing day….