Portrait of a Military Family

Tim, Tammy, Timmy, Taegen and Jewel.  An American family.

They're featured in our story this week, reported by Steve Lopez, about the hardships families face when Daddy or Mommy goes off to war.

This week Tim left for his second deployment in Afghanistan. He's a Staff Sergeant with the 1st Battallion LAR, US Marines.  He's expected to be gone for 7-9 months.

He leaves behind Tammy, his high school sweetheart and wife of nine years, and his three children.  Timmy is 7, Taegen is 5, and Jewel is 3.

San Diego photographer Kevin Mudd volunteers for an organization called Operation Love Reunited. Mudd and his fellow volunteers take pictures of military families when they come out to greet their returning loved ones - and when a service member leaves for a deployment.  Mudd took these pictures of the Gallagher family, which we set to the musical track, When I Fall In Love, by Miles Davis.