FOND DU LAC, Wis. (SPECTRUM NEWS) — Benjamin Slane has been working in public affairs for the Milwaukee VA Medical Center for six years.

Part of his job is to tell stories through pictures and video. The journalism major is good at it.

“Everyone has a story,” he said. “At the VA, we’re in a unique position where we have 70,000 stories to tell and they’re all good stories.”

Slane has captured images no words could describe. He has shadowed a veteran on an honor flight to Washington D.C. One of his most treasured stories is showcasing Wisconsinites on Independence Day last year.

“This is my favorite story,” he said.  “I love it because I didn’t do any interviews.”

Slane’s reason for becoming involved with the VA is an emotional one. It begins and ends with his brother.

“My brother was in the army and he ended up committing suicide and I didn’t have any photos of him at all, so I ended up up taking a photo of a hotel room that he committed suicide in,” Slane said. “I took pictures of this door and it was symbolic in a lot of ways like this is the door and this was his way out.”

He said he realized the importance and necessity of capturing moments. That picture of a door will forever been ingrained in his memory.

“That was the last image I had of my brother, so that still sticks with me even now.”

One of his most recent photos happened at Kelley’s Country Creamery in Fond Du Lac.  Benjamin took on a night out with family, at the farm’s Sunflowers Taking Flight event. Visitors can take a walk through hundreds of sunflowers. 

Donations go to the Old Glory Honor Flight of Northeast Wisconsin.

“We have lots of friends that are servicemen and women and they do so much,” said owner Karen Kelley.

Kelley saw Slane’s photo of the sunflowers for the first time Wednesday. In the foreground, a cutout of that iconic image of U.S. marines raising the flag at Iwo Jima. Kelley had a flood of emotions.

“My husband and I got to be guardians on an honor flight last September and it reminds me of being there actually with the veterans,” she said. “It’s just something that you can’t get from any history book.”

There’s another reason why Slane’s photo is so special to her.

“That picture was extra special this year because the actual Iwo Jima, my son and daughter-in-law built this last winter to use in the sunflower maze just so people understand why we’re doing this,” Karen said.   

If you want to see more of Benjamin’s work, click here.