In 2015, Jimmy was invited to Fort Campbell to present a framed photograph of “Goin’ Home” during a ceremony to honor the fallen soldiers and their families. They asked him to tell the story behind his photograph.
“I told the story of Commander John “Jackie” A. Feldhaus, a Navy Pilot and childhood friend from Lawrenceburg, who was deployed to Vietnam to fly combat missions. He told me, “If anything happens to me, please take care of my family, and I wish to be carried to my grave as they did in the old days, in a horse-drawn wagon.”
On October 8, 1966, Jackie was shot down in the Thanh Hoa Province of North Vietnam.
Jackie was MIA for 35 years. During this time, I shot a commercial near Lawrenceburg for a forklift company, comparing the way things were hauled now and the way things were hauled in the old days. Mr. Markus, a farmer I had known for years, agreed to use his old wagon and mule to help with the commercial. It was an excellent opportunity to make a photographic dedication to Jackie, though I still hoped for his return. I carried an old shipping casket and my dad’s burial flag for the commercial. Mr. Markus’s dogs took part in the photograph. It was first dedicated to Jackie, but later, I changed the dedication to “To honor and remember those who loved it, fought for it, and died for it…America.”
Years later, I received a phone call from the Department of the Navy. They informed me that Commander John A. Feldhaus’s remains had arrived in DC, and his family requested my presence at his funeral in Arlington National Cemetery the following day.
The next day, I walked behind the caisson and the casket drawn by six grey horses. The F-18 Navy Fighters flew over the Pentagon, a no-fly zone at the time, and the band played the Navy Hymn. The missing man aircraft pulled out of formation, and a seven-man rifle squad provided a 21-gun salute as the bugler played Taps. My heart felt peaceful. My friend was home.
When I finished the story, I unveiled the ‘Goin’ Home’ photograph. The families and members stood and applauded for several minutes. I have never been so honored in my life.
They placed my print at the command headquarters. Since then, the print has been displayed all over the U.S., in foreign countries, military bases and in cockpits, tanks and tents across Iraq and Bosnia.”
Jimmy Moore
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