WWII HEROES: Photographs by Zach Coco

Scroll down to view photographs by Zach Coco

January 18 – March 25, 2021

WW II HEROES is the culmination of a 4-year project by photographer Zach Coco to interview and photograph the men and women who served in the military during WW II. This is the premier exhibit of Coco’s work. Click here to read this Smithsonian Magazine article about Coco’s experiences and some of the heroes he interviewed.

Click here to see a video of Coco speaking about the exhibit featuring 31 images and bios of WWII veterans, selected from the 100 veterans he photographed for his book, WWII Heroes.

Incorporated into this exhibit will be materials drawn from the Museum of the Big Bend’s collection of WW II Savings Bonds posters, maps from the Yana and Marty Davis Map Collection, military uniforms and other artifacts.

All works will be for sale with the proceeds donated to area VFW and American Legion chapters.

Born on Veterans Day, photographer Zach Coco, a native of Syracuse, New York, has held great appreciation for, and connection with, our nation’s military heroes. This came by way of his grandfather, a WWII Veteran. In his free time, as a volunteer at the local VA, Zach appreciatively transports Veterans to Sunday services. His grandfather was his hero growing up, and is credited as being a great influence and inspiration for Zach’s passion and mission of preserving the memories of WWII Veterans through his gift of photography. It was with the passing of his grandfather that Zach realized that the opportunity was quickly passing to photographically document men and women of the “Greatest Generation” in appreciation for their service and sacrifice for the cause of freedom. Missing the opportunity to photographically document his grandfather’s military service portrait, Zach determined to make sure other families wouldn’t live with the same sorrow when their family hero passed. His book of “WWII Heroes” provides a legacy of 100 WWII Veteran portraits, with biographies that include WWII experiences, for future generations to glean and learn from.

Zach’s vision is unique, and his approach is calculated; crafting each portrait to capture the unique personality and WWII experience of each individual veteran. Zach continues his mission to interview and photograph as many WWII Veterans as possible. To learn more about this mission please visit www.picturesforheroes.org