Military

Nick Grimes by Justin Merriman

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Nick Grimes, who keeps an arsenal of firearms in his Oakmont, Pa., home, sees a practical line between his right to own those weapons and the federal government’s right to ban so-called “bump stocks,” which allow semi-automatic weapons to fire like machine guns.

Appomattox, Virginia by Justin Merriman

Trump's America by Justin Merriman

A cross painted with "It's not about religion! It's about relationships" stands in a yard along West 6th Street in East Liverpool, Ohio on Sept. 15, 2016.

Courtney Lally, 23, stands with her daughter, Gianna, 2, at her home in  Munhall, Pa., home on Tuesday, Oct. 25, 2016. Lally's sister, Jessica Lally, 25, and her boyfriend, Christopher Dilly, 26, were found dead by police after Jessica's 7-year-old daughter alerted a school bus driver that her parents were blue and she was unable to wake them. The two had overdosed on heroin.

Vacant business are reflected in an empty storefront in McKeesport, Pa., on Oct. 25, 2016.

Harrold Nelson, 60, stands in the street in front of his home in McKeesport, Pa., on Oct. 25, 2016. Few homes remain on Nelson's block, many of those that do remain are abandoned.

Donald Trump supporters cheer at a campaign stop at the Cambria County War Memorial Arena on October 21, 2016 in Johnstown, Pennsylvania. Trump and Democratic presidential nominee Hillary Clinton continue to campaign as Election Day nears. 

Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump speaks to supporters during a campaign stop at the Cambria County War Memorial Arena on October 21, 2016 in Johnstown, Pennsylvania. 

Andy Stafford, a vendor from Sarasota, Florida, holds a Trump flag as he sets up his stand in the parking lot of the International Exposition Center prior to a campaign stop by Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump on October 22, 2016 in Cleveland, Ohio. "I'm a Trump lover," says Stafford. 

Students on a bus shout obscenities as they give the middle finger to Trump supporters lined up outside of the Cambria County War Memorial Arena prior to a Donald Trump campaign stop on October 21, 2016 in Johnstown, Pennsylvania. 

A Trump supporters yells at members of the media during Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump's campaign stop at the International Exposition Center on October 22, 2016 in Cleveland, Ohio. 

Bill Hummel, 69, who has worked as a tow-truck driver since 1959, sits in his tow truck in Youngstown, Ohio on Oct. 26, 2016.

A sign stands in a vacant lot in Youngstown, Ohio on Nov. 23, 2016.

A Trump supporter shows off his t-shirt as he stands in line outside of the Cambria County War Memorial Arena prior to a Donald Trump campaign stop on October 21, 2016 in Johnstown, Pennsylvania. 

A billboard advertising protection for people losing their homes stands above a small car dealership in Youngstown, Ohio on Nov. 23, 2016.

A crew works at a demolition site of a historic building in East Liverpool, Ohio on Sept. 15, 2016.

A painting sits in a window in Downtown, Youngstown, Ohio on Nov. 23, 2016.

A supporter of Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump listens on as he speaks during a campaign stop at the Cambria County War Memorial Arena on October 21, 2016 in Johnstown, Pennsylvania. 

A Trump sign sits in a window in Youngstown, Ohio on Wednesday, Nov. 23, 2016.

Sam Cappelli of Boardman, Ohio watches the demolition of a historic building in East Liverpool, Ohio on Thursday, Sept. 15, 2016.

Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump is on a television at the Golden Dawn in Youngstown, Ohio on Oct. 26, 2016.

Phillip Naples stands behind the bar at the Golden Dawn in Youngstown, Ohio on Nov. 19, 2016.

East Liverpool, Ohio sits on the edge of the Ohio River on Thursday, Sept. 15, 2016.  The town, once a bustling steel and pottery town, now has a population of about 11,000 people and like many towns across the United States is facing a growing opiate problem.

Antonio Lake, 6, walks in front of a Trump sign in Youngstown, Ohio on Nov. 23, 2016.

Jean Barefoot, 58, reflects on the loss of her daughter, Jessica Lally, to a heroin overdose as she stands near her Munhall, Pa., home on Tuesday, Oct. 25, 2016. Lally was found by police after her 7-year-old daughter alerted a school bus driver that her parents were blue and she was unable to wake them.

Tom Brophey, 77, sits in his barber shop along West 6th Street in East Liverpool, Ohio on Sept. 15, 2016.  Brophey, who worked in the Crucible Steel plant, opened his barber shop after losing his job in the mill in 1982. "Everyone knows there's a problem, but no one knows how to fix it," he says speaking of the heroin problem the town faces. "Drugs are the economy now. It's like an infection. It spreads," he says.

Carl Venzeio, 77, a self-proclaimed supporter of Democratic presidential nominee Hillary Clinton, stands in front of his trunk in Youngstown, Ohio on Oct. 26, 2016.

Steps lead to a vacant lot where a home once stood in McKeesport, Pa., on Oct. 25, 2016.

A giant statue of Donald Trump stands in a yard of a home along Route 982 just up the road from the Tin Lizzy, a 266-year-old tavern in Youngstown, Pa., on Sept. 26, 2016.

A closed sign hangs in front of a flag in a storefront in East Liverpool, Ohio on Thursday, Sept. 15, 2016.

I spent quite a bit of time traveling through West Virginia, Ohio, and Pennsylvania documenting the presidential election, communities struggles with the opioid epidemic, and life in America's Rust Belt. The images were published a variety of publications including STAT, The Daily MailThe New York PostThe Dallas Morning NewsThe Washington PostThe Chicago Sun Times, The Times of Oman, The Boston Globe, The Oregonian, Forbes, Folha de S. Paulo, BBC and many others. 

Guantanamo Bay by Justin Merriman

The sun rises above empty guard towers, above part of camps that are no longer used at Guantanamo Bay's Camp Delta on Aug. 13, 2016.

Detainees pray in a communal area of Camp 6, one of the detention facilities at Guantanamo Bay on Aug. 13, 2016. Camp 6 holds the majority of the remaining 61 detainees at the detention facilities on the U.S. Naval base Guantanamo.

A couple of images from my visit to Guantanamo Bay detention camp in August of 2016.  You can read more about my visit in my stories "An inside look at Gitmo as detention facility faces uncertain future" and "GITMO procedures challenge military 'transparency.'"

USS Requin by Justin Merriman

TOP: Korean War veteran Joe Kobus, 84, of Shaler, a member of the Shaler VFW Post 9199, stands near the USS Requin during a memorial service at the submarine on the North Shore on Sunday, May 29, 2016. BOTTOM: Ron Luniewski, a member of the Shaler VFW Post 9199, posts the colors during the memorial service at the USS Requin submarine.

Finally At Rest by Justin Merriman

Commander Michael Freynik, a member of a Navy Honor Guard from the Navy Operation Support Center (NSOC) Pittsburgh, prepares to present the folded American flag for Navy veteran William Rodgers during his funeral at the Cemetery of the Alleghenies in Bridgeville on Thursday, May 19, 2016.  Rodgers burial was conducted through the Missing in America Project, which assists in location, identification and burial of unclaimed American veterans.

Members of a Navy Honor Guard from the Navy Operation Support Center (NSOC) Pittsburgh, (left to right) Seaman Falon Jones, Commander Michael Freynik and First Class Petty Officer Lewis Dean process with the cremains of Navy veteran William Rodgers during his funeral the Cemetery of the Alleghenies.

First Class Petty Officer Lewis Dean, a member of the Navy Honor Guard from the Navy Operation Support Center (NSOC) Pittsburgh, plays taps during the funeral of Navy veteran William Rodgers.