Ryan Bell Photography

Album

1st Sgts Hill

A hillside of hand-built crosses above the base, each one made and maintained by the people who knew the person it stands for. Photographed over an afternoon in August.

Made: August 12, 2026
Location: Camp Pendleton, California
Contains: 15 photographs

A dirt path running along a dry ridge, edged with rows of wooden crosses and lines of stones, with hills and low cloud beyond. — The Path Up

the start of 1st sgts hill right when you make it to the top — 1st Sgts Hill Pigeggs

Several weathered wooden crosses standing in dry grass beneath a wide sky of broken cloud. — Against the Weather

An American flag on a pole among a mound of painted river stones and memorial objects, with hills in the background. — Colours

A carved figure of Christ mounted on a wooden cross, photographed from below against a pale sky, with the hillside falling away behind. — Figure on the Ridge

A close view of a flat memorial plaque covered with drink cans, bottles, coins and small personal objects left by visitors. — Left Behind

A man crouched beside a memorial marker on the hillside, surrounded by stones, cans and left offerings. — Tending

A brass plaque on a new wooden cross reading Cpl Brayden Kornegay, August 11 2000 to July 16 2026, 1st Combat Engineer Battalion. — Cpl Brayden Kornegay

The memorial path seen along its length, crosses and stone-edged plots on both sides, hills receding into haze. — Along the Ridge

A red-painted cross marked 2nd Battalion 5th Marines standing among stones and flags, with a figure walking in the middle distance. — 2nd Battalion, 5th Marines

A dark cross hung with a folded flag and pale ribbons moving in the wind, name plates fixed along its crossbar. — Ribbons

A plain wooden cross on a dry slope, photographed against the ocean and a bright overcast sky. — Toward the Water

A dark memorial plaque set into the ground beside sunflowers and small flags, its engraved text catching the light. — Dedication

A view from the top of the hill down over scrubland to the base and its roads spread out along the valley floor. — 62 Area, Camp Pendleton

A close group of wooden crosses of different sizes and colours, surrounded by stones, on the crest of the hill. — Standing Together