10/29/2023
After 20 faithful years of service, Master Sergeant Ryan Masel retired from the United States Marine Corps. I was honored to capture such a special day for him as his friends, family, and fellow Marines from near and far gathered to thank him for his service and celebrate the end of this chapter.
After the ceremony as they celebrated at the nearby bar, I learned about a special family tradition of theirs. Several of the cousins are fellow service members and for each deployment over the years, they "check them out" with a group toast when leaving for deployments, and "check them back in" with another toast when they safely return.
Take a look at the last picture for a group "check out" for Ryan as he and his family start a new chapter!