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The man who took the photograph has enlisted the help of social media to identify the man.
WESTERVILLE, Ohio — A photographer is on the hunt to find a man, believed to be a veteran, who he captured in a photograph during the Westerville Christmas parade last Sunday.
Ryan Childress, the man who took the photograph, has enlisted the help of social media to identify the man, and the Facebook post has been searched more than 15,000 times in just a few days.
Childress is hoping to identify the man so that he can send him a copy of the portrait.
“I’ve been absolutely blown away with how this picture has touched people,” Childress said.
Childress said his daughter’s dance group was walking in the annual Westerville Christmas parade, so he decided to bring his camera along. While he was there, Childress said he noticed a man in a green jacket saluting the American flag as it passed by.
“When I saw the man there, I immediately thought of my own dad,” Childress said.
Childress’ dad is a Vietnam-era Air Force veteran. As he watched the man in the picture inch closer to the street as the flag came into sight, Childress said he knew what he was witnessing was something special.
“I’m not sure what his history is, maybe he fought for that flag, or maybe, you know, whatever the case was, it really meant a lot to him,” Childress said.
Along with the thousands of shares, likes, and comments on social media, came a request from members of the community for Childress to sell copies of the portrait. It’s a demand Childress never could have anticipated, and he decided to donate all of the proceeds from the sales of the picture to a local veteran organization.
“The entire spirit of this whole thing is to pay respect and homage to a veteran,” Childress said.
A community is joining in on the effort to help find a man whose simple gesture has resonated with so many.
“There’s a lot of, a lot of neat things that could come out of it if that’s what he wishes,” Childress said.
Childress is asking anyone who thinks they may recognize the man in the photo to send him a message on his page, “RJ Childress Photography” on Facebook.
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