Memorial DayThese men, and thousands of others, rest here so that I may have the freedom I have today.

It's one thing so see a photograph of this cemetery, but I cannot tell you what it was like to photograph it. Today is Memorial Day. Today we honor The Fallen, those who gave the ultimate sacrifice so that we might have the freedoms that we enjoy today, namely, the right to free speech.This photograph brings up a lot of emotions for me. My father enlisted at the beginning of World War II and served for 30 years. I was brought up in a military family, where I learned values that I still hold very dear to this day. 

This photograph was taken at one of the American national cemeteries that are located in Normandy, France. I was forever changed by my trip and I will publish more photographs on June 6th. It's one thing to see photographs of graves at national cemeteries, but it's totally different when you stand at a grave site and look at the names of the people buried there. It becomes much more real and much more personal. There are some things that a photograph cannot capture and this is one of them. But they do serve as reminders that we should be forever grateful to those who gave their all for our country. I hope each of you takes time to remember that.

Paul P.