On Opening Day the Washington Nationals unveiled a plaque remembering the victims of the Navy Yard shootings on Sept. 16, 2013. Following the ceremony several Navy officers including Adm. Jonathan Greenert, Chief of Naval Operations, Rear Adm. Mark Rich, Commandant of Naval District Washington and Vice Adm. William Hilarides, Commander of Naval Sea Systems Command, as well as D.C. Mayor Vincent Gray posed for a photo. As they did, an unidentified man stepped forward, placed a bouquet of flowers before the plaque and quickly departed. Ideally I would have liked to get a picture of the man placing the flowers but it was an awkward composition. Instead I settled for a photo of the plaque itself with the flowers. Initially I wished I hadn’t cropped the faces out but I think without them, your attention is drawn to the plaque, which was the point of the ceremony in the first place.
Chief of Naval Operations Adm. Jonathan Greenert speaks with Judy Johnson following a ceremony hosted by the Washington Nationals to unveil a memorial for the victims of the Navy Yard shooting on Opening Day at Nationals Park. Johnson’s husband, John Johnson, 73, was the oldest victim at the Navy Yard. (Mike Morones/Staff)
