John Riedy Photography

Sorting through old hard drives this morning, I came across photos from two of the highlights of my career photographing veterans for the The Greatest Generations Foundation. The first is from 2016 when I traveled to Tuba City, Arizona to photograph two of the last surviving Navajo Code Talkers. On the left is Peter MacDonald, who today is one of the last two surviving code talkers, and on the right is Dan Akee, who died three years after this was taken. One of my most vivid memories of that day was having lunch with MacDonald, who joined the Marines at 15 to aid in the war effort, at the local Denny’s. It was literally like eating with a rock star. No fewer than 20 people approached him to say hi, so clearly beloved Peter is in the Navajo community.

In the second photo I’m next to James Leavelle, who not only survived the attack on Pearl Harbor, but went on to become famous for the iconic photo you see to his left. He was the Dallas PD officer who was escorting Lee Harvey Oswald (handcuffed to him actually) when Oswald was shot by Jack Ruby. Talk about living history. Sadly, he too passed just a few years after this photo was taken.

As we transition to the warriors of the Vietnam War generation, I can only imagine the interesting men I may be lucky enough to meet and photograph along the way. Stay tuned.

It’s great to be back in my happy place exploring the battlefields of Normandy with one of the few remaining American heroes who experienced it firsthand, 101 year old Harold Radish. Hard to fathom such a beautiful place was the scene of so much death.

Hanoi at night.

Today we drove into the beautiful A’sau Valley, home of some of the fiercest fighters (for the US and South), the Montagnards. The landscape is still pockmarked by massive bomb craters that today make for excellent makeshift bathing ponds for their water buffalo.

Making friends and memories in Hue, Vietnam, site of the Tet Offensive of 1968. We made portraits of 23 former VC and NVA. And , I’m afraid I met someone, but she’s a b***h. 😆😆😆

Ready to go for the final Team Battle of the National Pickleball League - nplpickleball.com in Houston! First round is at 7:30am central time when I’ll be playing with fellow Scorpions Pickleball teammate and two time tennis doubles grand slam champion, Piet Aldrich. Catch all the action right here! My mixed match is round three, which should start around 9am central time.

Saturday AM Court P07 - Katy, TX, National Pickleball League® 2024 Presented by DEXA Scan Welcome to the National Pickleball League® (NPL) Weekend #5 at Pace Pickleball, Katy, TX, proudly presented by DEXA Scan! Join us for an exciting weekend of ...

Day two of the National Pickleball League - nplpickleball.com Team Battles is about to begin! Both my morning matches will stream at the link below…

https://www.youtube.com/live/EHfXgdfFAfo?si=QkrQk4M2f2O6Qj88

National Pickleball League™ | Champion Pros The National Pickleball League (NPL) is a nationwide team competition for the Champions Division. Established in 2022, we're the first Pro Pickleball League for the 50+ age group. We encourage athletes over the age of 50 to maintain a professional player status within the game of Pickleball.