Faces of Five Wars · Begun 1996
Their service. Their lives. Their stories.
Portraits by David J. DeJonge and stories by Karin Orr bring us face to face with Michigan veterans—their service, their sacrifices, and the lives shaped by five wars.
Grand Rapids Home for Veterans · Grand Rapids, Michigan · November 9, 2006 · Project photograph; photographer uncredited
Portraiture joined to oral history
A public record made face to face.
Stories by Karin Orr
Photographs by David J. DeJonge
Beginning in 1996, photographer David J. DeJonge and Grand Rapids Press columnist Karin Orr documented nearly thirty Michigan combat veterans whose service reached from the First World War through Desert Storm. Orr wrote their stories; DeJonge made their portraits.
The project entered the Van Andel Museum Center in 1998, the Michigan State Capitol Rotunda in 1999, and later a permanent twenty-four-image installation at the Grand Rapids Home for Veterans.
The twenty-four-portrait installation
Portraits from the exhibition.
Explore the portraits from the permanent installation at the Grand Rapids Home for Veterans. Select a portrait for a closer view, or follow its story link to read Karin Orr’s original profile.
Preserving the original work
About the collection.
This online collection presents all twenty-four portraits from the permanent installation and sixteen original profiles written by Karin Orr. The stories are historical interviews, reflecting the veterans’ lives and recollections at the time they were written.
Fifteen profiles accompany identified portraits. Keith Makowski’s profile is also included from the original project files; his portrait is not yet available in this online collection. Research continues into the names of eight portrait subjects and the remaining exhibition stories. The arrangement follows the project archive rather than the original wall display.