Stories of Chicago area veterans captured in series of portraits on display
CAROL STREAM, Ill. (CBS) -- If a picture is worth a thousand words, a portrait series of local veterans tells stories of sacrifice and service.
The signs of appreciation for Veterans Day were visible at Belmont Village in Carol Stream, but inside there was also a permanent photo gallery honoring those who put their lives on the line for their country.
"They had photos of the previous people in here, and I thought I want to get in with the rest of them," said Bob Usiak, an Air Force veteran.
Usiak's portrait includes a photo of him during his service that he originally sent home to his mother.
"It's the reflection of what I had and what I have now," he said. "A lot of change."
John R. Garland's photos hangs around the corner.
"Couldn't have been too long ago. I look old," he said, laughing.
Each of the photos tries to capture the personality and the experience of the veteran in front of the camera. They came with their uniforms, an Air Force nursing diploma, replica parts from their planes, and stories of their courage.
"At 18, you're not afraid of anything," Garland said. "You're not."
The veterans' stories are reaching beyond the walls of Belmont Village. Some of them were collected in a book and others were put on display for exhibits at O'Hare and Midway airports.
For some, there's a sense they wish they could have done more.
"You always think you should have done more, could have done more," said Garland. "I did all I could."
But they also shared an appreciation of their experience and the way it changed them.
"It changed your life, you know," Usiak said.
The photos are part of a series that started in 2008 with the aim of photographing veterans at more than 30 Belmong Village communities across the country.