Jacob Morgan - Mickey Strand - Veterans Series

Mickey Strand - Veterans Series

The Veterans Portrait Series

Mickey is a retired Navy Photographers Mate, Chief Petty Officer, and was the Leading Chief of the Navy's elite Combat Camera Group Pacific. Mickey's current focus is the Veterans Portrait Series, which documents veterans' stories of service. He is focused on our Worlds' Greatest Generation. The veterans of World War II. 

Mickey interviews each Veteran, collecting and writing their service stories, archiving these notable historic figures and their stories for generations to come. Mickey has collected and displayed images and stories from over 100 warriors that at one point, signed the dotted line when our country needed their sacrifice of service most.  Mickey continues to collect Veterans from all services for the Veterans Portrait Series. In 2019 this body of work was displayed at the Palm Beach Photographic Centre Museum from Nov 11, 2019 — to March 1, 2020.

Mickey and the project were in the national spotlight, featured on the Sunday Today Show with Harry Smith Today Show Link to YouTube.  See the Google 360 Virtual walk through from the Palm Beach Museum Exhibit. Enjoy, and thank you for your help with this project. In 2022 Mickey has photographed over 25 more WW2 Veterans and will be hosting a print show in San Diego in November with an open house on Veterans Day.

Featured Veteran

Richard H. Wehmeyer
US Army Air Corps
First Lieutenant
World War II

 Richard H. Wehmeyer was born in Saint Louis, Missouri, on February 3, 1923. After graduating from Beaumont High School in January of 1941, he attended Columbia University in New York. Richard hoped to join the Army Air Corp (AAC) and enter the pilot training pipeline. He finished two years of credits at Columbia by attending classes full time, including summer and breaks, accelerating his completion the minimum requirements to qualify for the Flying/Aviation Cadet Pilot Training Program.
 In March 1943, he reported to Grand Central Station in New York City for induction to begin pilot training. He passed his medical screening and boarded a Pullman car bound for Kessler Field in Biloxi, Mississippi, to attend Army Boot Camp. Now a Cadet, he was paid $50 base pay & $25 flight pay, the same as a Private. Cadet Wehmeyer reported to Elon College in North Carolina for 30 training days. He continued to Nashville for the Pilot Program, followed by Montgomery, Alabama, for classroom training, followed by Basic Flight at Clarksdale, Mississippi, flying two-seat training single-engine PT-23 Fairchilds, with his first flight on Sep 4, 1943.
 Richard reported to Basic Flying School at Greenville Army Airfield, Mississippi. His first flight was on November 9th, 1943, training in the BTa-13 Valiant. He flew many missions, planning and filing flight plans for the first time. In the 90-day course, they learned acrobatics, instruments, and how to fly with other aircraft in groups. Richard was then selected for multi-engine flight training at George Field, Illinois, flying the Beechcraft AT-10 Wichita. On April 15th, Richard graduated and was commissioned as a second lieutenant. He married his wife, Dorthy, on April 19th, whom he had met at Columbia University.
 They reported to Maxwell Field, Alabama, where he learned to fly the B-24 Liberator for a few months. After that, he reported to crew assignment and trained with his flight crew. In November, Richard and his crew sailed to England for 12 days, reporting to England for combat operations, but they were reassigned to a B-17 Flying Fortress squadron with the 92d Bomb Group.
 Being reassigned to a new aircraft type, Richard flew his first combat mission as a co-pilot on Jan 8th over France, assigned to hit a road junction. Richard still reads from his flight mission logs, cataloging his 30 combat missions, including targets in Berlin. He was assigned to the pilot seat and reunited with his crew for his 9th mission, targeting the rail yards at Fulda. On the sixth mission, the enemy fire took out two engines, forcing them to land the wounded B-17 north of Paris.
 Richard and his crew flew 30 combat missions, their last on April 25th, as the lead low element of the squadron. They made four runs through intense enemy fire and targeted an armament plant in Pilsen, Czechoslovakia. The plane was heavily damaged with holes all through it and the loss of the #3 engine, as well as wounding the radio operator. This was the last combat mission for the 92nd Bomb Group. Richards’s 30 combat missions totaled over 640 flying hours.
 Richard finished his time in Europe after VE day, flying for the green project. This project included installing benches in B-17s to transport soldiers to Casablanca to board ships bringing them home. 

FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS

Where can I donate?

I have created a way to accept donations to grow the project, use the WWII Veterans Portrait Series
  Go Fund Me.

Where are you located?

I live in the San Diego area but have traveled to many locations to interview and photograph Veterans.


How Long is an Appointment?

Appointments usually last 1 hour. But please free up time for Mickey to set up lights and cameras, hold the interview, and take some photographs for the project.

Do you accept reservations?

Yes is the simple answer to the question.  Each appointment is set up as an individual session. Group sessions have been set up when I visited a senior living facility or many of the California Veterans Homes.

Jacob Richard. Morgan was born on Oct 10th, 1925, and grew up in El PasoTexas, in a pretty poor home. He served in the US Navy from 1944 to 1964, serving 20 years of active duty. Jacob was attending Texas A and M and was offered the opportunity to attend Rice University in the V-12 program as a student seaman recruit. He attended school for one year before attending a pre-midshipmen school in New York. the V-12 program generated specialized trained officers for the Navy and the Marine Copts during WW2 from 1943 - 1946 at over 131 colleges in the US. Seaman Morgan jumped at the opportunity of this accelerated commissioning program. Ensign Morgan graduated from Midshipmen school in 1945 at just 19 years old. After graduation, he reported to San Fransisco awaiting transportation to the Pacific, serving once as an escort to a debutant ball to Miss Dorothy Hills, daughter of the Hills Brothers Coffee Co. Jacob sailed to Guam aboard a Destroyer to be assigned to his actual first ship. stopping first in Guam. Ens Morgan served as a Censor on Guam awaiting transport west, blacking out service members’ letters home of any data that had military importance or sensitivity to military operations. Ens Morgan also enjoyed his evenings at the Guam Officers Club and enjoyed the gambling it offered. One night he volunteered to run the dice table serving as the House. In ten days, Jacob made more money than his expected salary for the remainder of the year. Never before had he experienced this much money in one place. He caught another ship to Tahiti to catch his permanent duty station. The transport stopped for supplies on Bora Bora, an island in French Polynesia serving as a rear base after the attack at Pearl Harbor. Eventually, the transport met with Ens Morgan's Fast Battleship, USS South Dakota (BB-57). Jack was transferred to the Dakota aboard a bosun's chair while underway. Jack served as a gunnery officer on Dakota, participating in the Philippines campaign, the Battles of Iwo Jima and Okinawa, and attacks on Mainland Japan three times. After the surrender, USS Dakota sailed into Yokosuka, Japan, and tied alongside the USS Missouri. On Sep 2, 1945, all the Dakotas officers, including Ens Morgan, lined the rails to witness the surrender agreement signing. The USS Dakota remained in Japan for a year, eventually returning to New York. LTJG Morgan served as a reservist and returned to Texas A and M. Lt Morgan returned to active duty during the Korean War, serving on the Heavy Cruiser USS St Paul (CA-73) as a gunnery officer in turret two for three years. Jack again returned to school on the GI bill, where he studied medicine, graduating with his MD in 1957. He returned to active duty as a Lt Commander in the Medical Corps. His residency was at the Naval Hospital in Oakland, Ca. He returned to San Diego Balboa Naval Hospital. During the Vietnam war, CDR Morgan deployed to the Naval Hospital Taipei Taiwan, an evacuation hospital for service members injured in Vietnam. He served at the hospital for two years, receiving an award for his work with malaria from China. He returned and studied with the cardiology department at Scripts in California for two years and the Balboa Naval Hospital for another three years. CDR Morgan served with the Pediatric and Cardiology units at the Naval hospital. CDR Morgan worked, studied, and updated pediatric cardiac journal articles winning the Casimir Funk Award, the first Naval doctor to receive this award. Jack retired from active duty in 1973 and served as a professor of medicine for two years at Texas Tech. He later returned to San Diego, serving in private practice for many years, retiring in 2007 after his 82nd birthday
Jacob Morgan - Mickey Strand - Veterans Series
Jacob Richard. Morgan was born on Oct 10th, 1925, and grew up in El PasoTexas, in a pretty poor home. He served in the US Navy from 1944 to 1964, serving 20 years of active duty. Jacob was attending Texas A and M and was offered the opportunity to attend Rice University in the V-12 program as a student seaman recruit. He attended school for one year before attending a pre-midshipmen school in New York. the V-12 program generated specialized trained officers for the Navy and the Marine Copts during WW2 from 1943 - 1946 at over 131 colleges in the US. Seaman Morgan jumped at the opportunity of this accelerated commissioning program. Ensign Morgan graduated from Midshipmen school in 1945 at just 19 years old. After graduation, he reported to San Fransisco awaiting transportation to the Pacific, serving once as an escort to a debutant ball to Miss Dorothy Hills, daughter of the Hills Brothers Coffee Co. Jacob sailed to Guam aboard a Destroyer to be assigned to his actual first ship. stopping first in Guam. Ens Morgan served as a Censor on Guam awaiting transport west, blacking out service members’ letters home of any data that had military importance or sensitivity to military operations. Ens Morgan also enjoyed his evenings at the Guam Officers Club and enjoyed the gambling it offered. One night he volunteered to run the dice table serving as the House. In ten days, Jacob made more money than his expected salary for the remainder of the year. Never before had he experienced this much money in one place. He caught another ship to Tahiti to catch his permanent duty station. The transport stopped for supplies on Bora Bora, an island in French Polynesia serving as a rear base after the attack at Pearl Harbor. Eventually, the transport met with Ens Morgan's Fast Battleship, USS South Dakota (BB-57). Jack was transferred to the Dakota aboard a bosun's chair while underway. Jack served as a gunnery officer on Dakota, participating in the Philippines campaign, the Battles of Iwo Jima and Okinawa, and attacks on Mainland Japan three times. After the surrender, USS Dakota sailed into Yokosuka, Japan, and tied alongside the USS Missouri. On Sep 2, 1945, all the Dakotas officers, including Ens Morgan, lined the rails to witness the surrender agreement signing. The USS Dakota remained in Japan for a year, eventually returning to New York. LTJG Morgan served as a reservist and returned to Texas A and M. Lt Morgan returned to active duty during the Korean War, serving on the Heavy Cruiser USS St Paul (CA-73) as a gunnery officer in turret two for three years. Jack again returned to school on the GI bill, where he studied medicine, graduating with his MD in 1957. He returned to active duty as a Lt Commander in the Medical Corps. His residency was at the Naval Hospital in Oakland, Ca. He returned to San Diego Balboa Naval Hospital. During the Vietnam war, CDR Morgan deployed to the Naval Hospital Taipei Taiwan, an evacuation hospital for service members injured in Vietnam. He served at the hospital for two years, receiving an award for his work with malaria from China. He returned and studied with the cardiology department at Scripts in California for two years and the Balboa Naval Hospital for another three years. CDR Morgan served with the Pediatric and Cardiology units at the Naval hospital. CDR Morgan worked, studied, and updated pediatric cardiac journal articles winning the Casimir Funk Award, the first Naval doctor to receive this award. Jack retired from active duty in 1973 and served as a professor of medicine for two years at Texas Tech. He later returned to San Diego, serving in private practice for many years, retiring in 2007 after his 82nd birthday