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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 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. Today we continue to capture the Ledgends of service of great American heros. 

Featured Veteran

Frederick V. Knight Jr.

Frederick V. Knight Jr.
United States Coast Guard
Radio Technician Petty Officer Second Class
WorldWar II

Frederick V. Knight Jr. was born on March 5, 1921, in Medford, Massachusetts, to Frederick V. Knight Sr. and Norah Jean Levers. He graduated from Mechanics Arts High School in Boston in June 1938. After high school, he worked for two years at New England Laundries in Somerville as a mechanic and extractor operator. He briefly worked for Manning, Maxwell, and Moore before securing a position at Watertown Arsenal, where he assembled 90mm anti-aircraft guns. He married his wife, Dorothy, on March 29, 1942. 
In October 1942, Fred enlisted in the Coast Guard after seeing an excessively long line at the Navy recruiting office. He completed eight weeks of boot camp at Manhattan Beach, New York. Because of his experience building radios, he was sent to radio school for 26 weeks in Atlantic City, New Jersey, at the Virginia Hotel, which had been converted into a housing and training facility. 
His first active-duty station was at Fire Island, parallel to Long Island, where he worked at a direction-finder station. He spent about three months there searching radio frequencies to locate enemy submarines, using a large wheel to turn the antenna.
Knight was next assigned to the 165-foot Thetis-class patrol boat, Pandora (WPC-113), based out of Staten Island. He served as a Radio Man Third Class (RM3), performing convoy duty between New York and Key West. During this time, he experienced severe seasickness until a nearby escort vessel was torpedoed, which triggered "battle quarters" and snapped him into focus. He spent about six months on this assignment, copying "Fox" schedules and monitoring battle frequencies.
After the Coast Guard identified the need for technicians, RM3 Knight was reclassified as a radio technician and assigned to Federal Electric in Newark, New Jersey. He spent six months living like a civilian, receiving per diem and residing in town while inspecting military radio equipment from various companies in the New York and New Jersey area for use by the Department of War.
He then attended Loran (Long Range Navigation Radio) school in Groton, Connecticut. After graduation, he was deployed to the Pacific, traveling through Hawaii and Saipan to the small island of Miyagi, off the coast of Okinawa. While the fight for the Okinawa Main Island was still ongoing, his unit built and operated a Loran station using high-power transmitters and Quonset huts shielded with copper screening. Petty Officer Knight was promoted to Second Class. RM2 Knight operated the station until earning enough ASR service points to leave Japan in December 1945. He traveled by ship to Portland, Oregon, and took a train across the country, celebrating Christmas aboard in Billings, Montana. He was honorably discharged in Boston in January 1946.
Fred continued working in the electronics and engineering industry and used his GI Bill to attend Northeastern University, earning degrees in engineering and management. While in school, he worked at the MIT Radiation Lab for 5 years as an electronics technician. He then joined a small private company, Ultra Mechanism/Ultrasonic, working on radar and autopilot systems for the Marines. Fred moved to San Diego to work for General Dynamics as an engineer for 27 years, retiring in August 1982. Fred and Dorothy had 2 children, 5 grandchildren, 14 great-grandchildren, and 17 great-great-grandchildren.

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
Please email

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 and the California Veterans Homes.

Copyright © 2025 Mickey Strand – Veterans Series
US Army SGT World War 2 Raul Garcia was born at home in San Diego on December 13, 1925. From age 16 to 18, Raul worked as a postal clerk. On his 18th birthday, he received his draft notice with instructions to report to the processing center at Camp Elliot, which is today the Torrey Pines golf course. Camp Elliot was an induction center, Army boot camp, and artillery weapons training center. During Raul’s initial medical processing, it was discovered that he had a punctured left eardrum, placing him in a 4F status or unfit for military service. Raul was disappointed and petitioned his local processing center to re-examine him. He was placed on a waitlist for an opening in the schedule. An appointment for the Los Angeles Processing Center specialist clinic was found in a few weeks, and Raul took the bus up to LA. Raul reported to the Ear Nose and Throat clinic. He was examined and told again his eardrum would rupture when the gunfire started. The doctor asked if he wanted to sign a waiver, and he replied, “Yes, Sir.” Ten days later, on April 16th, 1944, he reported to Camp Roberts for infantry training. Raul’s eardrum is fine; it never ruptured during his enlistment. After initial training, he reported to Fort Ord in Monterey, CA. to the 8th Army 7th Infantry Division as a replacement troop for the Pacific. He shipped to the Pacific on a liberty ship as a replacement troop. Raul was still in transit when the atomic bombs were dropped on Japan, bringing an end to the war. Raul landed in Yokohama to serve with occupational forces. With Raul’s previous postal work, he was assigned to the 704th postal unit, where the Fleet Post Office (FPO) mail was processed on the northern island of Hokkaido in Sapporo. Raul was assigned to deliver and accompany mail to other basses riding the train around Japan. He also tested for his military driver’s license, allowing him to be assigned as the company commander. He drove the CO in his Jeep Willy to meetings at Division HQ and duties around the island and base. Raul was responsible for the Jeep 24 hours a day. He also loved having the Jeep for some after-hours rides around Japan. Raul received his discharge notice in November of 1946 and loaded a troop transport liberty ship to return to the US on the Victory ship SS Puerto Rico. They returned to San Francisco, offloaded at Oakland Army Base and discharged at Camp Beale. Raul returned to the Post office and worked most of his 44 years at the Fleet Post office at the Broadway Pier complex, retiring in 1995. Raul was married and had three children.
Veteran,NIK,WW2,mickey,strand,nikon,photograph
Raul Garcia - Home Page Slide Show - Mickey Strand - Veterans Series
US Army SGT World War 2 Raul Garcia was born at home in San Diego on December 13, 1925. From age 16 to 18, Raul worked as a postal clerk. On his 18th birthday, he received his draft notice with instructions to report to the processing center at Camp Elliot, which is today the Torrey Pines golf course. Camp Elliot was an induction center, Army boot camp, and artillery weapons training center. During Raul’s initial medical processing, it was discovered that he had a punctured left eardrum, placing him in a 4F status or unfit for military service. Raul was disappointed and petitioned his local processing center to re-examine him. He was placed on a waitlist for an opening in the schedule. An appointment for the Los Angeles Processing Center specialist clinic was found in a few weeks, and Raul took the bus up to LA. Raul reported to the Ear Nose and Throat clinic. He was examined and told again his eardrum would rupture when the gunfire started. The doctor asked if he wanted to sign a waiver, and he replied, “Yes, Sir.” Ten days later, on April 16th, 1944, he reported to Camp Roberts for infantry training. Raul’s eardrum is fine; it never ruptured during his enlistment. After initial training, he reported to Fort Ord in Monterey, CA. to the 8th Army 7th Infantry Division as a replacement troop for the Pacific. He shipped to the Pacific on a liberty ship as a replacement troop. Raul was still in transit when the atomic bombs were dropped on Japan, bringing an end to the war. Raul landed in Yokohama to serve with occupational forces. With Raul’s previous postal work, he was assigned to the 704th postal unit, where the Fleet Post Office (FPO) mail was processed on the northern island of Hokkaido in Sapporo. Raul was assigned to deliver and accompany mail to other basses riding the train around Japan. He also tested for his military driver’s license, allowing him to be assigned as the company commander. He drove the CO in his Jeep Willy to meetings at Division HQ and duties around the island and base. Raul was responsible for the Jeep 24 hours a day. He also loved having the Jeep for some after-hours rides around Japan. Raul received his discharge notice in November of 1946 and loaded a troop transport liberty ship to return to the US on the Victory ship SS Puerto Rico. They returned to San Francisco, offloaded at Oakland Army Base and discharged at Camp Beale. Raul returned to the Post office and worked most of his 44 years at the Fleet Post office at the Broadway Pier complex, retiring in 1995. Raul was married and had three children.