Carl Little - Mickey Strand - Veterans Series

Mickey Strand - Veterans Series View More Photos Skip to Main Content

The Veterans Portrait Series.

Mickey is a retired Navy Photographers Mate, Chief Petty Officer, and was the Leading Chief of the Navy's elite Combat Camera Group Pacific. Mickey's current focus is the Veterans Portrait Series, which documents veterans' stories of service. He is focused on our Worlds' Greatest Generation. The veterans of World War II. 

Mickey interviews each Veteran, collecting and writing their service stories, archiving these notable historic figures and their stories for generations to come. Mickey has collected and displayed images and stories from over 100 warriors that at one point, signed the dotted line when our country needed their sacrifice of service most.  Mickey continues to collect Veterans from all services for the Veterans Portrait Series. In 2019 this body of work was displayed at the Palm Beach Photographic Centre Museum from Nov 11, 2019 — to March 1, 2020.

Mickey and the project were in the national spotlight, featured on the Sunday Today Show with Harry Smith Today Show Link to YouTube.  See the Google 360 Virtual walk through from the Palm Beach Museum Exhibit. Enjoy, and thank you for your help with this project. In 2022 Mickey has photographed over 25 more WW2 Veterans and will be hosting a print show in San Diego in November with an open house on Veterans Day.

Featured Veteran

Gill Nadeau
US Navy
SM3
World War II - Korea

Born on June 4, 1926, Gilbert Nadeau enlisted in the Navy at the age of 16 with his mother’s permission. When Gil initially reported to the enlistment office, he was informed that, at four feet eleven inches tall, he fell three inches short of the enlistment height requirement. Determined to join, he made repeated visits, hoping for an exception. One day, a recruiter allowed him to take the primary exams, and subsequently, Gil was granted the opportunity to enlist.

Gil attended boot camp in Sampson, New York. On the morning of the first week of January 1944, when he arrived at boot camp, the temperature was a frigid five degrees. During his initial physical examination, he faced an unusual situation – he was below the height chart’s minimum requirement. To address this, a corpsman loaned him a uniform top, and two other corpsmen positioned him against the wall, subsequently lowering the board as a third took an ID card photo to make him appear taller than the minimum requirement. The manpower shortage during this time was evident, as Gil’s boot camp was remarkably short, spanning only 28 days, before he was shipped off to the Naval Training Center, Bainbridge, MD. He attended Signalman A School, where he graduated and achieved a meritorious promotion to Signalman Third Class in just 29 days.

After completing his training, Gil was assigned to the Naval Amphibious Base, Little Creek, VA, where he joined the amphibious training command. Their training involved using an old 158-foot wooden patrol craft with hammocks for the crew’s sleeping quarters. Subsequently, they were introduced to Landing Craft Infantry ships for transporting troops to shore during amphibious landings.
Later, Gil received orders to relocate to Portland, Oregon, where he was assigned to work on LCS-45, a Landing Craft Support ship. This ship had a crew of 75 enlisted personnel and six officers. Notably, his Commanding Officer held the rank of Lieutenant. The primary mission of the LCS was to provide support for landing troops equipped with 40mm guns and rocket systems to aid in amphibious operations.

The ship’s journey continued as it sailed to Hawaii, where the crew underwent further training. Following their training, Gil’s group of LCSs had escort duty alongside a group of LCTs on the island of Majuro. From here, they set sail to Guam and eventually reached Eniwetok. Unfortunately, during their operations at Eniwetok, the ship collided with another vessel, temporarily taking them out of action during the crucial Battle of Iwo Jima.

After repairs, the ship was reassigned to another group tasked with the final operations in the Philippine Islands. Following their successful operations in the Philippines, the ship played a role in the landings on the island of Borneo. Their contributions included assisting in securing of Brunei and later Miri, as part of the overall operations in that region.

FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS

Where can I donate?

I have created a way to accept donations to grow the project, use the WWII Veterans Portrait Series
  Go Fund Me.

Where are you located?

I live in the San Diego area but have traveled to many locations to interview and photograph Veterans.


How Long is an Appointment?

Appointments usually last 1 hour. But please free up time for Mickey to set up lights and cameras, hold the interview, and take some photographs for the project.

Do you accept reservations?

Yes is the simple answer to the question.  Each appointment is set up as an individual session. Group sessions have been set up when I visited a senior living facility or many of the California Veterans Homes.

Carl E. Little was born on Mary 2nd, 1928, and grew up on a farm leaving at 15 to work at a family bakery in Ohio. One day, a man visiting the store asked if he was interested in working at the Airbase at Wright-Paterson, Ohio. He apprenticed as a Hydraulics specialist at the Air Base, having lied about his age to be able to work at the Hydraulic shop until the Army drafted him thinking he was 18. He was shipped off to boot camp on 1 April 1945 at the age of 16 to Camp Robbins, Little Rock, Arkansas, for boot camp, learning that Germany had surrendered a week before graduation. He was scheduled to ship-out to tank driving school when he reported to his Sargent that he had yet to be paid. There were no records for PVT Little, so the Army started a new one. His sergeant discovered his past specialty and discovered there was a need for a Hydraulics specialist, so Carl was diverted to Borinquen Army Airfield, Aguadilla, Puerto Rico, a place Carl had never heard of. After working as the shop supervisor for a while, Carl requested a transfer and was reassigned to become an MP. He stood guard at the gates and performed Town patrol, ensuring service members returned to base at curfew. He served in Puerto Rico for three years, transferring to Detroit and then Bolling Field in Washington, DC, to finish his service obligation. He served as an MP and was on active duty when the US Air Force was separated from Army. He was separated as a CPL in Nov of 1948 after four years. Carl had many jobs over the following years and was offered to join the Navy in the summer of 1951 to serve again during the Korean War. He attended boot camp at Great Lakes Ill, and reported to the USS Windless ARD-4, a Gypsy-class salvage lifting vessel. Carl passed the diver test and went to UDT training, where he was involved in an accident during hell week and was forced to drop. He reported to the USS Rushmore LSD-14, serving for under a year until he received orders to Italy to work on a Criss Craft as a coxswain for the admiral's barge in Naples, Italy. When promoted, he transferred to the motor pool and worked there for the last of his three-year tour. He then served onboard the USS Northampton CLC-1. Carl served aboard USS Lenawee (APA-195), Amphibious Construction Battalion ONE, and CNIC Norfolk Va. as the MWR coordinator and the USS Bexar (APA-237) LPO of the boat division. Carl married Shirley, a mother of 4 Girls making him an instant father on day one. During Vietnam, Carl reported to Assault Craft Unit 1 (ACU1) onboard LCU-1481 for his first of three tours. They ran supplies and troop up and down the rivers and beaches. Carl reported as the Chief Boatswain at Nuclear Weapons Training Center Pacific in San Diego. Carl worked with the work-study group Norfolk and then at NTC San Diego as a Traffic Judge, retiring in March 1978, Serving for over 30 years.
Carl Little - Mickey Strand - Veterans Series
Carl E. Little was born on Mary 2nd, 1928, and grew up on a farm leaving at 15 to work at a family bakery in Ohio. One day, a man visiting the store asked if he was interested in working at the Airbase at Wright-Paterson, Ohio. He apprenticed as a Hydraulics specialist at the Air Base, having lied about his age to be able to work at the Hydraulic shop until the Army drafted him thinking he was 18. He was shipped off to boot camp on 1 April 1945 at the age of 16 to Camp Robbins, Little Rock, Arkansas, for boot camp, learning that Germany had surrendered a week before graduation. He was scheduled to ship-out to tank driving school when he reported to his Sargent that he had yet to be paid. There were no records for PVT Little, so the Army started a new one. His sergeant discovered his past specialty and discovered there was a need for a Hydraulics specialist, so Carl was diverted to Borinquen Army Airfield, Aguadilla, Puerto Rico, a place Carl had never heard of. After working as the shop supervisor for a while, Carl requested a transfer and was reassigned to become an MP. He stood guard at the gates and performed Town patrol, ensuring service members returned to base at curfew. He served in Puerto Rico for three years, transferring to Detroit and then Bolling Field in Washington, DC, to finish his service obligation. He served as an MP and was on active duty when the US Air Force was separated from Army. He was separated as a CPL in Nov of 1948 after four years. Carl had many jobs over the following years and was offered to join the Navy in the summer of 1951 to serve again during the Korean War. He attended boot camp at Great Lakes Ill, and reported to the USS Windless ARD-4, a Gypsy-class salvage lifting vessel. Carl passed the diver test and went to UDT training, where he was involved in an accident during hell week and was forced to drop. He reported to the USS Rushmore LSD-14, serving for under a year until he received orders to Italy to work on a Criss Craft as a coxswain for the admiral's barge in Naples, Italy. When promoted, he transferred to the motor pool and worked there for the last of his three-year tour. He then served onboard the USS Northampton CLC-1. Carl served aboard USS Lenawee (APA-195), Amphibious Construction Battalion ONE, and CNIC Norfolk Va. as the MWR coordinator and the USS Bexar (APA-237) LPO of the boat division. Carl married Shirley, a mother of 4 Girls making him an instant father on day one. During Vietnam, Carl reported to Assault Craft Unit 1 (ACU1) onboard LCU-1481 for his first of three tours. They ran supplies and troop up and down the rivers and beaches. Carl reported as the Chief Boatswain at Nuclear Weapons Training Center Pacific in San Diego. Carl worked with the work-study group Norfolk and then at NTC San Diego as a Traffic Judge, retiring in March 1978, Serving for over 30 years.