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Thursday, May 24, 2012
July 5, 2010

July 4th: Dover and New York

<p>DOVER, DELAWARE; July 4, 2010: Preparations for an evening concert in front of the state capitol building.</p> <script type="text/javascript">AKPC_IDS += "15015,";</script> <p>DOVER AIR FORCE BASE; July 4, 2010: US Army &#8220;dignified transfer team&#8221; carries the remains of Pfc. Ryan J. Grady, 25, formerly of Bristow, was killed Thursday when an improvised explosive device hit the military vehicle he was in near Bagram airfield in Afghanistan, the Defense Department said Saturday.</p> <script type="text/javascript">AKPC_IDS += "15015,";</script> <p>DOVER AIR FORCE BASE; July 4, 2010: US Air Force personnel stand at attention during the &#8220;dignified transfer&#8221; of the remains of Pfc. Ryan J. Grady, 25, formerly of Bristow, was killed Thursday when an improvised explosive device hit the military vehicle he was in near Bagram airfield in Afghanistan, the Defense Department said Saturday. </p> <script type="text/javascript">AKPC_IDS += "15015,";</script> <p>HOBOKEN, NEW JERSEY; July 4, 2010: Crowds gathered on the Hudson River promenade to watch the annual fireworks display.</p> <script type="text/javascript">AKPC_IDS += "15015,";</script> <p>HOBOKEN, NEW JERSEY; July 4, 2010: Crowds gathered on the Hudson River promenade to watch the annual fireworks display.</p> <script type="text/javascript">AKPC_IDS += "15015,";</script> <p>BROOKLYN, NEW YORK; July 4, 2010: Boisterous celebration of the Fourth Of July as local residents open a fire hydrant in the Williamsburg neighborhood.</p> <script type="text/javascript">AKPC_IDS += "15015,";</script>

BROOKLYN, NEW YORK; July 4, 2010: Boisterous celebration of the Fourth Of July as local residents open a fire hydrant in the Williamsburg neighborhood.

Driving back to New York from Virginia, I received word that there would be another “dignified transfer,” at Dover Air Force Base in Delaware, of Pfc. Ryan J. Grady, 25, US Army, killed Thursday by an improvised explosive device near Bagram airfield.

I decided to go and cover it: July 4th, Independence Day. I arrived early so I explored the empty streets of downtown Dover, where they were preparing for an evening parade and concert. Four miles away, the Air Force C-17 carrying Grady’s body landed and then the ritual this time seemed faster than usual, or maybe I’ve just been there enough times now that it feels quick and awfully predictable. A somber way to spend the holiday: Private Grady was the 1,136th American soldier killed in Afghanistan.

In New York, as on every July 4th, crowds gathered on the Hoboken waterfront to watch the fireworks above the Hudson; in Brooklyn, fire hydrants were opened to cool off the 90 degree-plus heat. Photographer Mark Ovaska reports that “the two scenes couldn’t have been more different: in New Jersey, suburban, middle-class American families came to see the fireworks and left immediately after, while in Williamsburg, young, affluent urban hipsters partied all night.”

–Alan Chin

PHOTOGRAPHS by ALAN CHIN / facingchange.org and MARK OVASKA

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  • art guerrilla

    1. o’er greyer waves of asphalt: that impervious, anti-nature, sticky wrapping we choke the planet with for the convenience and benefit of our automobile overlords… all hail pickup ! ! !
    2. front and stage-right of center is the junior, petite version of the infotainment world where Important People will say Important Things… make me laugh, make me cry, clowns…
    3. in the background, relatively unimportant, obscured by gross ‘patriotic’ idolatry, is the state, the civic commons, the just gummint foolish citizens seek…
    *it* is the sideshow: pay attention to the Mandatory Fun Entertainment and purty grrls, instead ! ! !
    ooo-o-o-o, pwity fireworks, ooo-o-o-o…
    art guerrilla
    aka ann archy
    eof

  • jackypappas

    That stage looks like a giant, Transformers™ version of the caskets used to transport fallen soldiers.

  • granby01

    Living in Arlington, VA and having a friend who two years ago was devastated by the loss of her husband to a roadside bomb in Afghanistan I travel with some regularity to Arlington National Cemetery. And like the photo of Pfc Ryan Grady’s body arriving at Dover AFB, everytime I visit that Cemetery, I ask myself: Is this the best solution we can come up with to resolve conflict? So many grieving parents/siblings/partners/children–is this (war) the answer? When will we ever learn?

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