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Cade Martin Introduces Us to Real Life Heroes

Cade Martin is usually head first in a project that lets his imagination run wildHis upbringing encouraged freethinking, daydreaming, and adventuring. Many of his projects reflect this and transport us to a different world and introduce us to characters and heroes that inhabit these faraway worlds. However, some of his projects tell us a different story. His project with Elevation Advertising tells us a story of real-life heroes. Cade’s portraits of D-Day Veterans combine his adventurous spirit with his desire to tell stories that move us beyond our comfort zone and teach us about the world we live in and the people who surround us.

Cade retells his experience with this project below. We hope you find it as meaningful as we have as the 77th anniversary of D-Day takes place on June 6th.

“The definition of a hero is complicated, situational, and often personal. But here in the Virginia Mountains, a place with an ingrained community history of grief and solemn pride tied to their own neighbors and family members – heroes – who were lost or changed on the beaches of Normandy, the definition is straightforward.”

Cade Martin

Caroll Reves

Bedford, Virginia. D-Day Veterans. Elevation Advertising.

It always feels important when doing a portrait project to do right by my subjects, to capture the stories and layers of character revealed in the angles and lines of a face. I love the honest relationship between lens and subject. All of this felt like both pressure and possibility when presented with the opportunity to make portraits of D-Day Veterans with Frank Gilliam and the team at Elevation Advertising for the National D-Day Memorial Foundation’s 75 anniversary “Pass the Flag” campaign.

On the morning of the project, I woke up to a dead battery in the hotel parking lot. I got a jump, drove to the D-Day Memorial in Bedford, unloaded my gear, and drove back through the mountains to a local garage in search of a new battery. I’m no stranger to the area, my parents grew up in the Virginia mountains, and I know the tight-knit nature of the community there. When I pulled up to the garage, the tall and wholly unamused owner walked out to ask what I wanted – and why I was there. I said that I was going to photograph D-Day Veterans in Bedford. His demeanor changed instantly, and he said quietly, “They don’t make them like that anymore.”

Herbert “Bill” Sisk

Curtis Kennedy

The definition of a hero is complicated, situational, and often personal. But here in the Virginia Mountains, a place with an ingrained community history of grief and solemn pride tied to their own neighbors and family members – heroes – who were lost or changed on the beaches of Normandy, the definition is straightforward. The National D-Day Memorial is located in tiny Bedford, VA, a testament to the reverence and commitment to preserving their legacy.

Henry Gurney

Being reminded of that deep tie to this place and knowing the power of a portrait, I drove back to our location ready to honor the pressure and possibility of getting to photograph D-Day Veterans at this memorial. The honor was mine to slow down and consider the definition of a hero at a time when the flashiest, loudest superheroes dominate our box office landscape. This project gave me the opportunity to be present in the company of these heroes, and it was a privilege.

Follow Cade on Instagram for more imagery finding beauty and telling stories of the heroes among us.