Photography by John Michael

I was going to get up early and scout the area where I think the Guns Platoon will be setting up and firing on Tuesday. but something drew me to the laptop (I had left it on and wanted to conserve some energy) – FB was open and I saw I had a new message that I read and had the urge to respond.

It was from a SSG deployed in Iraq who had served in the Caisson Platoon of the 3d Infantry Regiment (The Old Guard) of the US Army. He wanted to know about the calendar “The Old Guard on Parade – 2009″

However, before I was able to hit “reply”, the chat box on FB popped and it was him… we began chatting and I learned that he nearly had 1,000 missions at Arlington National Cemetery. He wanted to hit that mark, but thought it better to help teach other soldiers and train horses “to do it right” {transfer of knowledge is ALWAYS more important, which is why I continue “Preserving the memories so others will remember…” ™}

We continued to chat and I continued to share some of the work I’ve done over the years and plans for the future.

I thanked him for his service and asked him to “Take care of you for me…” as he was heading out on a 20 hour mission…

Thank you SSG – Thank you for your service! Thank you for making my Sunday!

In a ground breaking milestone and what is believed to be the “Inaugural” calendar, John Michael – a professional photographer & military historian – has created and published “The Old Guard on Parade – 2009″ about US Army’s 3d Infantry Regiment – The OLD GUARD – the most historic and the oldest infantry regiment in the United States military.

Since 2000, John Michael has continually photographed this elite regiment while they executed their ceremonial missions. It was earlier this year while doing research on a book that he’s writing about a specialty platoon within the regiment that he concluded the need for this calendar. In speaking with men who had served in the 1950′s – 1960s – 1970s and to-date, none could recall that there was a calendar produced about the entire regiment.

John Michael poured over the thousands of photographs he had available and thought the theme of “The Old Guard on Parade” would be an appropriate one for 2009 in light of the upcoming Presidential Inauguration. The Old Guard will play a key role on Inauguration Day ushering in the new President, Barack Obama.

With a textual history included, the Calendar’s photographs feature the many specialty units within the Regiment including:

• The Presidential Salute Battery,
• The Caisson Platoon,
• US Army Drill Team,
• Commander in Chief’s Guard,
• The Fife and Drum Corps,
• The Continental Color Guard.

“It has been an honor to be able to photograph these fine troops and the work they do.” said John Michael “I’ve been blessed to observe and capture in photographs much of the work these soldiers do as part of their daily schedule. They are truly the finest and Americans should be proud to have such an outstanding treasure in the US Army.”

The US Army 3d Infantry Regiment, “The Old Guard” has its origins dating back to 1784 when the United States was evolving from the colonies to a sovereign country. This US Army elite regiment (Escort to the President) has a dual responsibility of both the defense of the United States Capital area and the ceremonial missions it carries out.

These include Presidential Inaugurations, White House arrivals, State Funerals, the final honors support at Arlington National Cemetery – and only military unit who has continuously guarded the Tomb of the Unknowns, and More.

When John Michael previewed the calendar to a noted Washington DC based military historian, the response was “John Michael is an athlete with a natural talent for photography who over the years has honed and fine tuned his skills through experience. This calendar is another of his creative works packaged for the world to enjoy and appreciate.”

The calendar comes in three versions -

• “THE STANDARD”,
• “THE STANDARD with EXTRAS” and the
• “PREMIUM”

All of the Calendars feature 12 months of photos from John Michael. The second version provides a brief history of the 3d Infantry Regiment and each of the specialty units featured in the calendar. The PREMIUM version of the calendar is a larger format and contains more descriptive information about the OLD GUARD.

John Michael will also offer the “PREMIUM COLLECTORS EDITION” – a limited “autographed” quantity of 250 which will be numbered.

The first version is available directly on line for purchase, the latter versions are available directly from Photography by John Michael.

When John Michael is asked why he’s devoted nearly the last ten years immersed in capturing, recording and presenting the work of the US military with a focus on the US Army, his reply is that he’s been given an on-going mission of “Preserving the memories so others will remember…” ™

John Michael continues his ongoing tradition of “giving back” – Proceeds from the sale of all the calendar’s versions will be donated to the 3d Infantry Regiment’s OLD GUARD LADIES ASSOCIATION to assist in their support of the active duty troops within the Regiment.

ABOUT John Michael – He resides in Alexandria, VA with many decades of photography experience. Since 2000 he has photographed the final honors at Arlington National Cemetery. photographed reunions of the Special Forces Association (Fayetteville, NC) the OSS Society (Arlington, VA), The Old Guard Association (TOGA). His creative talents have also resulted in an ever-growing assortment of military heraldry note cards, Christmas cards and greeting cards featuring scenes of Arlington National Cemetery. His book on the “Big Guns of the Old Guard” will be published in Spring of 2009.

Check out the back of the calendar here…

I’ve been getting very positive feedback on this calendar and the sales are showing the acceptance. In about 3 weeks, the sales rank has gone from with in 88,000 to somewhere in the 13,000s.

Thank you! The proceeds support the troops.

To order online click the button below the slide show on the right column of the blog.

OR

If you’d like to receive the “STANDARD PLUS” version, download the PDF order form below it and send your check or money order to the address on the page.

The MOST UNIQUE CALENDAR FOR 2009!

The first sales happened one day after it was released to the public. Since 2000, I’ve been blessed to be able to photograph and capture in photograph form one of the amazing units in the US ARMY, 3d Infantry Regiment – The OLD GUARD. Not only are they amazing, the regiment is the oldest unit in the United States Military having it’s origins set in 1784.

After going through all the photos from these past years and with the assistance of TOG’s public affairs, I selected a set of photos that gives a glimpse of military pagentry and ceremony at its finest.

Proceeds from the sale of this calendar will be donated to the 3d Infantry Regiment’s Old Guard Ladies Association. The collage of photos above shows a sample of the photos that are in the calendar. Proceeds from the online sales will be donated to the 3d Infantry Regiment’s OLD GUARD LADIES ASSOCIATION.

Just click on the button below and you’ll see ALL the photos and BUY MANY OF THEM!

THE MOST UNIQUE CALENDAR featuring the 3d Infantry Regiment – The OLD GUARD of the US ARMY — the oldest unit of the US ARMY dating back to 1784. The regiment has a dual mission of providing the defenses for the Washington DC area and executing ceremonial duties as required, including Presidential Inaugurations, Arlington National Cemetery final honors support, White House arrivals and many more.

Highlighted units within the Regiment include: The Presidential Salute Battery, The Caisson Platoon, US Army Drill Team, Commander in Chief’s Guard, The Fife and Drum Corps.

This calendar provides a small glimpse of the wide gamut of specialties in this historic regiment.

I’m a regular contributor / volunteer for a website called FIND A GRAVE that has the largest collection of memorials to those who have passed on. My focus on Arlington National Cemetery has been augmented by participating in this activity.

I was on a mission today to capture a few of the photos of gravestones as requested by friends, family or interested parties. It was the end of the mission day when I arrived at ANC after trying to meet with a local card shop who originally had expressed interest in carrying a selection of my greeting cards / notecards. I was attempting to show off the new calendars that are being developed. But I digress.

Even after all these years of traversing the hallowed grounds of the United States’ shrine to it’s military heroes, I still need to get an orientation at times when I’m heading into a Section of the cemetery that I rarely frequent. My first direction was to head to Section 3, a very familiar place since that’s where I spend time with the Presidential Salute Battery when they execute their missions. When I saw one of the caisson teams slowly making their way back through the cemetery to the stables on Fort Meyer, I decided “to roll” along with them. The soldiers looked a bit tired, since their day began by showing up at 4:00 AM at the stables to go through their preparation for their four-plus missions that they probably participated in during the day. (They spend their entire day in the cemetery…)

I clicked off a few photos as I followed them up through the McClellan Gate (original entrance to Arlington National Cemetery) as they reached the intersection, the team and the section sergeant turned left towards the Tomb of the Unknowns…