Press coverage, guest bylines, and media features for the Voice for Valor veteran interview podcast and its host, Michael Komorous — a retired U.S. Air Force officer who flew the C-17 Globemaster III and worked legislative affairs at the Pentagon. This is where Voice for Valor and Michael Komorous have appeared in veteran and military media beyond the show's own episodes and essays.
- Guest Contributor May 10, 2026
We Are The Mighty
'The Long Road Home:' Leadership Lessons from the Cockpit to Congress
The host of Voice for Valor shares what he learned three years after leaving the Air Force.
We Are The Mighty — one of the largest military and veteran media outlets — ran a guest feature by Voice for Valor host Michael Komorous, a retired U.S. Air Force officer. The piece traces the through-line from flying the C-17 to working legislative affairs at the Pentagon, and what the transition out of uniform revealed about leadership that the career itself never did.
- Podcast Guest February 2026
Talking With Heroes Podcast
Don't Let Anyone Put You in a Box
The Talking With Heroes Podcast — part of a national media coalition spotlighting veterans, first responders, and the families who support them — featured Voice for Valor host Michael Komorous. The conversation centers on navigating life beyond military service: why sharing your story matters during the transition, and how perspective and self-advocacy carry a veteran through it.
- Event Photographer November 2025
American Veterans Center
Photographing American Valor: A Salute to Our Heroes (2025)
American Valor honors America's greatest heroes from World War II to the present day.
Voice for Valor host Michael Komorous returned for a second year as an event photographer for the American Veterans Center, documenting its black-tie American Valor: A Salute to Our Heroes gala in Washington, D.C.
The 2025 program carried added weight: it marked the 80th anniversary of the end of World War II, welcoming dozens of living veterans of the war — many over 100 years old — along with the “Rosie the Riveters” who built the planes, ships, and tanks on the home front. A selection of images from the evening is below.
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On assignment at the American Valor gala in Washington, D.C. -
A shared laugh between WWII veterans during the program. -
A 66th Infantry Division veteran and his wife, interviewed on stage. -
'Rosie the Riveter' honorees of the WWII home front, recognized during the 80th-anniversary program.
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- Interview July 30, 2025
Bill of Rights Institute
Service, Mentorship & Civic Engagement with Michael Komorous | Honoring Service
The Bill of Rights Institute — a nonpartisan educational nonprofit — produces the Honoring Service series, which explores civic virtue and responsibility through the stories of the nation’s veterans. This episode features retired U.S. Air Force colonel Michael Komorous, host of Voice for Valor, on service, mentorship, and what civic engagement looks like after the uniform comes off.
- Event Photographer April 1, 2025
Sun 'n Fun Aerospace Expo
Photographing the Sun 'n Fun Aerospace Expo (2025)
Voice for Valor host Michael Komorous returned to the Sun ‘n Fun Aerospace Expo in Lakeland, Florida — the annual air show and aviation convention — for a second year behind the camera.
The 2025 show brought the U.S. Navy Blue Angels, fast-jet demonstrations, and a static display line packed with military and civilian aircraft, photographed from the morning flights through the closing fireworks. A selection of images is below.
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The U.S. Navy Blue Angels over the flight line. -
An F-35 demo over Lakeland. -
A Navy F/A-18 against the evening sky. -
Fireworks close the night air show over the ramp. -
Inside a C-17 with show visitors.
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- Podcast Guest February 28, 2025
HeroFront Podcast
He Took Lives, And Had to Stay Silent… Until He Lost Someone He Couldn't Save
Michael Komorous appeared on the HeroFront podcast — a show spotlighting the stories of veterans and first responders — for a wide-ranging conversation on military leadership, the weight of service, and the emotional cost it carries. It was here that Mike first laid the foundation for Voice for Valor and its mission of authentic storytelling for those who served.
- Event Photographer February 2025
80th Anniversary of Iwo Jima
Photographing the 80th Anniversary of the Battle of Iwo Jima (2025)
Voice for Valor host Michael Komorous photographed surviving U.S. Marines of the Battle of Iwo Jima as their first-hand accounts were recorded — eighty years after the February 1945 fight that produced one of the most enduring images in American history.
The 80th anniversary marked one of the last milestones at which the men who took the island could tell their own stories. Capturing those portraits and interviews — survivors now well past 100 — was a chance to help preserve their testimony while it could still be heard. A selection of images is below.
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A Marine veteran of Iwo Jima, photographed for the 80th-anniversary project. -
An 'Iwo Jima Survivor' sits for a recorded oral-history interview. -
Recording a survivor's first-hand account of the battle.
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- Event Photographer November 2024
American Veterans Center
Photographing American Valor: A Salute to Our Heroes (2024)
For the first of two years, Voice for Valor host Michael Komorous worked as an event photographer for the American Veterans Center — the nonprofit behind the Emmy-winning television special American Valor: A Salute to Our Heroes and an annual conference that brings together honored veterans from World War II to the present day.
Photographing the event meant time alongside living legends of the Second World War — D-Day veterans, infantrymen, and the “Rosie the Riveters” of the home front — as their stories were recognized on a national stage. A selection of those images is below.
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With a 9th Infantry Division veteran of World War II. -
A 'Rosie the Riveter' of the WWII home front, in conversation between sessions. -
An embrace with a 1st Infantry Division veteran who landed at Omaha Beach on June 6, 1944.
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- Event Photographer July 4, 2024
National Archives
Photographing the National Archives Fourth of July (2024)
Voice for Valor host Michael Komorous worked as an event photographer at the National Archives’ annual Fourth of July celebration — held each year on the steps of the building in Washington, D.C. that holds the original Declaration of Independence, Constitution, and Bill of Rights.
The day pairs a formal ceremony at the Archives with the National Independence Day Parade along Constitution Avenue, from colonial fife-and-drum corps to the crowds that line the route. A selection of images from the celebration is below.
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Colonial fifes and drums on the Independence Day parade route. -
A quiet moment against the columns of the National Archives Building. -
A reading during the Fourth of July program at the National Archives. -
Above the parade route during the National Archives' Independence Day celebration. -
On site at the National Archives, camera in hand.
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- Event Photographer April 5, 2022
Sun 'n Fun Aerospace Expo
Photographing the Sun 'n Fun Aerospace Expo (2022)
Voice for Valor host Michael Komorous — himself a retired Air Force pilot who flew the C-17 Globemaster III — photographed the Sun ‘n Fun Aerospace Expo, the major annual air show and aviation convention held each spring in Lakeland, Florida.
From the U.S. Air Force Thunderbirds in the air to the static display line on the ramp, it was a chance to photograph the aircraft and crews from a perspective shaped by a career in the cockpit. A selection of images is below.
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The U.S. Air Force Thunderbirds in a mirror pass. -
A North Carolina Air National Guard C-17 Globemaster III overhead. -
In the cargo bay of a C-17 on the static display line. -
On the flight line at Sun 'n Fun.
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- Event Photographer August 24, 2020
Presidential Visit — Charlotte, NC
Photographing President Trump's Arrival in Charlotte (2020)
Voice for Valor host Michael Komorous photographed President Donald Trump’s arrival in Charlotte, North Carolina on August 24, 2020 — the first day of the Republican National Convention, where party delegates formally nominated the President for reelection.
The images capture Air Force One’s arrival at Charlotte Douglas International Airport, Marine One staged on the ramp, and the President stepping off the aircraft. A selection is below.
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Air Force One on final approach into Charlotte. -
The President steps off Air Force One amid the motorcade. -
Marine One on the ramp, with a Marine guard and Air Force One beyond. -
Air Force One at Charlotte.
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- Event Photographer August 31, 2018
Presidential Visit — Charlotte, NC
Photographing President Trump's Arrival in Charlotte (2018)
Voice for Valor host Michael Komorous photographed President Donald Trump’s arrival in Charlotte, North Carolina on August 31, 2018, as Air Force One touched down at the Charlotte Air National Guard base.
The images capture the aircraft on the ramp, the President at the door, and the flight-line moment as he greeted Air National Guard members and supporters gathered to meet him. A selection is below.
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Air Force One on the ramp at the Charlotte Air National Guard base. -
The President waves from the door of Air Force One. -
Greeting Air National Guard members and supporters on the flight line.
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