Veterans at Heinz Field

Written By Justin Merriman




TOP PHOTO: Pittsburgh Steeler Roy Lewis helps guide Jeremy Feldbusch, 28, of Blairsville, who lost his eyesight while serving in Iraq, to find the target to throw the football through. Feldbusch, a veteran of the US Army's 3rd Ranger Battalion in Iraq was injured by shrapnel and lost his eyesight in 2003. The Pittsburgh Steelers and VA Healthcare – VISN 4 partnered to provide a special fun-filled evening of football for Operation Enduring Freedom and Operation Iraqi Freedom veterans. Veterans will test their football skills with the help of Pittsburgh Steeler players. SECOND PHOTO: Pittsburgh Steeler Jeff Reed poses for a photograph with Jessica Lynch, 25, of Parkersburg, WV. Lynch served in Iraq during the 2003 invasion by U.S. and allied forces. On March 23, 2003 she was injured and captured by Iraqi forces, but was recovered on 1 April by U.S. special operations forces, with the incident subsequently receiving considerable news coverage. THIRD PHOTO: Jessica Lynch, 25, of Parkersburg, WV, catches a football at Heinz Field on Tuesday evening. BOTTOM PHOTO: Pittsburgh Steeler Chris Hoke signs an autograph on an American Flag for Doug Gindlesperger, 37, of Somerset. Gindlesperger, a sergeant, served with the US Army in Iraq in 04-05 as well as during the Gulf War in 1991.
Justin Merriman

Justin Merriman, a freelance photojournalist based in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, has traveled the world to cover politics, wars, natural disasters, civil unrest as well as covering assignment throughout the United States. His work has appeared in leading national publications and he has received multiple top journalism awards.   

After covering the September 11, 2001, terrorist attacks – including the crash of United Flight 93 in Shanksville, Pennsylvania – Merriman committed to chronicling the U.S. military and its war on terror.  He has followed this story across the United States and into the conflict zones of Pakistan, Afghanistan, and Iraq. He also has covered life in Fidel Castro’s Cuba in 2002, India’s efforts to eradicate polio from its population, the aftermath of the 2010 earthquake in Haiti, Pope Benedict XVI’s visit to Cuba in 2012, the 2013 conclave and election of Pope Francis in Rome, the second anniversary of Egypt’s revolution and subsequent unrest, Russia’s invasion of Crimea and the international political crisis that unfolded in Ukraine in 2014, a look inside of the Guantanamo Bay detention camp in 2015 and its uncertain future, and most recently, traveled the entire U.S. border with Mexico documenting issues on immigration. 

Merriman’s work has appeared in The New York Times, The Washington Post, The Wall Street Journal, the Atlantic, Time, USA Today, Sports Illustrated and other publications across the globe. 

He has been recognized with numerous regional, national and international awards from organizations including Pictures of the Year International, Society of Professional Journalists, the National Press Photographers Association, the Society for News Design, the Atlanta Photojournalism Seminar, the Northern Short Course, the Southern Short Course, the American Society of Tropical Medicine and Hygiene, the Military Reporters and Editors Association, and the Western Pennsylvania Press Club. He was awarded Photographer of the Year by the News Photographer Association of Greater Pittsburgh four times and most recently was honored with the Keystone Press Award’s 2016 Distinguished Visual Award from the Pennsylvania Newspaper Association.

Born in Greensburg, Pennsylvania, Merriman graduated from the University of Pittsburgh at Greensburg in 2000 with a Bachelor of Arts degree in English Writing. In 2009, the university awarded him its prestigious Alumnus of Distinction award. 

Currently Merriman lives in Oakmont with his fiancé, Stephanie Strasburg, a photojournalist with PublicSource. 

http://www.justinmerriman.com
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