Coeur d'Alene photographers record veterans as they return to Normandy

For Adam Schluter, being in Normany to photograph World War II veterans was a dream. 

Only, it was real. 

Schluter snapped away as U.S. veterans reflected on a war that brought them to France 80 years ago to battle Germany and save Europe. He captured the tears, the smiles and the hugs.  

There was a moment when a veteran picked up a handful of sand at Omaha Beach and without a word, looked around. 

Another time, a veteran cried and hugged those around him. 

“This was the reason why I picked up a camera 10, 12 years ago,” the Coeur d’Alene photographer said. “This is the stuff that I live for.” 

It was his chance, through his lens, to share the stories of men who survived D-Day on June 6, 1944, and the fighting that followed. 

Nothing, not money or recognition, mattered more than telling it right. 

“I really do get close to these people. I care a lot about them,” Schluter said. 

He joined a few others from the Coeur d’Alene area, including photographer Jerome Pollos, photographer/videographer Jack Wade, and Best Defense Foundation video producer Austin Bishop, on a 10-day trip to Normandy in June to chronicle the nearly 50 veterans brought there on the 80th anniversary of D-Day when Allied troops invaded the beaches of Normandy. 

The BDF is a nonprofit organization focused on helping veterans and their families find closure from the wars they served in while providing a once-in-lifetime experience to visit the battlefields they fought in. 

“Although recognized as The Greatest Generation, fewer and fewer people remember the sacrifices made by our WWII veterans,” BDF said. “We launched The Best Defense Video Archive to educate our young and preserve this living history for future generations.” 

Bishop has been part of BDF for 10 years and this year, for the 80th anniversary of D-Day, recruited Pollos and Schluter.

“I wanted to make sure we got the best guys to do it,” Bishop said. 

Bishop said BDF annually takes a small group of veterans to places where they fought, and every five years has a larger celebration. They have returned veterans to Pearl Harbor, Germany and Iwo Jima. 

Their duty was to pretty much follow and record the veterans and their caregivers wherever they went. Their images captured not only people and places, but emotions as well. 

Bishop watched hardened veterans, tough old men, in their late 90s and over 100 years old, step back onto Omaha Beach and Utah Beach, and cry. Others were stoic. Some huddled close with others and placed arms around shoulders. 

“The emotions come out. You capture it as it happens,” Bishop said.  

He said it was overwhelming at times, and he broke down as well. 

“It’s very powerful,” he said.  

Pollos said there was a strong connection between BDF, veterans, caregivers and volunteers during their time in Normandy. 

“It was like a family," he said. 

Pollos was impressed with veterans who, despite their age, worked hard to keep up with everyone as they visited towns, schools and civic events in their honor. The veterans were up late and up early, too. 

"There were so many great moments,” he said.  

Schluter found the men and women on the trip “so sincere and so personal.” He heard stories of life, of war, of loss and love. 

“They remember everything, and they’re happy to share it,” Schluter said. “We all walked away feeling like they’re part of our family."

Pollos was moved by the way people in France reacted to the veterans. He showed a video of a school where the veterans are being driven away, and kids are lining the fence, clapping and shouting their thanks for what the veterans did for their country. 

As the vans with vets rolled down a highway, thank you banners hung on roadsides and people rooted for them enthusiastically. Some drove hundreds of miles to be there. Thousands attended parades to pay tribute.

“It's like we have Taylor Swift in our vans,” Pollos said, laughing. 

“The level of appreciation that the French people show the veterans is insane,” Schluter said. “I’ve never seen anyone that cares that much about anything.” 

It not only shook the veterans but the photographers as well. 

“It definitely affects you,” Pollos said. “It’s a part of history that quickly, literally, is dying off.” 

Schluter said some of the veterans were just teenagers when they took part in D-Day and fought their way across Europe for the next year. And yet, so many decades later, they remember everything, every person.

“They remember the faces,” Schluter said. 

Bishop said for the veterans, seeing Normandy as it is today, free and beautiful, made the sacrifice so many men made 80 years ago worth it. 

“It really helps get closure for them,” he said. “We got to be a part of giving these guys closure and get to be a part of their lives.” 

Pollos agreed. He said he saw one veteran have what he called a breakthrough, and declare, “I want to live a happy life.” 

Being there, Schluter said, was very personal, and very real. 

“Incredibly special,” he said.  

Bishop said before he joined BDF he knew little of World War II and D-Day. 

“I saw ‘Saving Private Ryan,’” he said. “It never struck this was a real scenario that happened.” 

Now that he knows and has met the men who fought the real battles, he wants the world to know their stories.

Bishop said he realized the importance of each minute spent with the veterans and tried to soak each one in. Only about 100,000 of the 16 million Americans who served in the war remain. 

“You meet them, and all of the sudden, they’re gone,” Bishop said. “You think you have more time, and it happens so fast.” 

Schluter agreed. 

“Every hour is once in a lifetime. It’s hard to take in while you’re in it. You get home and then it hits you," he said.

Pollos said he feels honored to have documented men who have lived many lifetimes in one life. He hopes to portray their humanity and personality.

“I’m showing what they are now as a result of what they endured,” he said. 

Pollos and Schluter each took thousands of images while Bishop recorded hours and hours of footage. 

Edited pictures and videos are or will be available on their websites and social media, and at bestdefensefoundation.org. 

    Wilbur “Jack” Myers, 100, is all smiles Saturday, June 1, 2024 during the sendoff celebration at the Delta Airlines museum in Atlanta, Georgia as he dances with Brianna Streeter, a member of the Best Defense Foundation medical staff.
  

    A woman who attended the city-wide parade in Carentan wipes her tears away Saturday, June 8, 2024 after meeting a WWII veteran who took part in the D-Day invasion.
  

    A local watches as veterans and their caregivers walk through the streets of Sainte-Mère-Église in the Normandy region of France on Sunday, June 9, 2024.
  

    Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky shakes the hand of Hilbert “Hibby” Margol, 100, during the International D-Day ceremony on Omaha Beach on Thursday, June 6, 2024.
  

    Local men who joined veterans in Normandy for the 80th anniversary of D-Day include, from left, Jerome Pollos, Jack Wade, Adam Schluter and Austin Bishop.
  

    A veteran and caregiver hold hands during their visit to Normandy in June.
  

    Troops look skyward during a tribute to veterans visiting Normandy in June.
  

    A veteran receives cheers during his visit to Normandy in June.
  

    A veteran reflects on his visit to Normandy in June.
  

    A veteran smiles as he shakes hands with a representative of the Best Defense Foundation.