Sgt. Ryan Baumann

Written By Justin Merriman
I've learned a lot as a photojournalist in the last few days. To often we take for granted what we do. I have been very blessed in my career to cover many amazing stories, to be behind the scenes at events, to be in the company of presidents and celebrities, to be on the sidelines of great games, to travel to faraway lands--Cuba, India, Pakistan, the United Arab Emirates, to be a firsthand witness to history--the crash of United Flight 93, the Sago Mine Disaster, elections in Pakistan, but no story or work I've even done has touched me as much as covering the war in Afghanistan. Since I've returned and our stories, videos, and photos have run in the newspaper and online, I've received so many touching emails from soldiers and their families. One soldier's wife emailed to tell us that her two boys spotted their dad, Sgt. Lynch, in a video. She wrote, "Thank you so much . As soon as we pulled up the Tani Mission video my boys spotted their daddy right away. We've been watching him for about the last hour over and over. They love their daddy so much!!" An email from Ryan's mother reads, "My father who is 89 and served in WW II actually had tears in his eyes. He found a frame and is moving it from room to room so he can "always keep Ryan on [his] mind and in [his] prayers." As I said before, you can't imagine what comfort it brings." And another email from a soldier's wife reads, "THANK YOU for giving me the chance to see and know and small glimpse of his life right now." Of all the awards I've received in my career, there is nothing that compares to emails and letters such as these. With our jobs, as journalists, to often we are forced to move from one story to the next, but this story will linger with me for quite some time. I'm so happy that my photographs have provided so many with glimpses into their sons, husbands, dads, brothers, uncles, cousins, and friend's lives while serving in Afghanistan. In particular, I'm overwhelmed at the emails I've received from Sgt. Ryan Baumann's friends, family members and fellow soldiers. There are to many to mention but each one deeply touches me and humbles me. I wanted to share some more photos I took of Ryan while I was with his platoon in Afghanistan. He truly was a consummate soldier and American.






Top photo: Ryan stopping to check for IEDs along a road near Seneky. Second photo: Ryan with Sgt. 1st Class Dustin Horn locating wells on a mission in Legorah. Third photo: Ryan at a well with Afghans on a mission in Legorah. Fourth photo: Ryan (center) with Capt. Nick Howard (left) and Sgt. 1st Class Dustin Horn (right) on a mission near Seneky. Final photo: Ryan keeps a careful watch along a road on a recognizance mission.
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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