Nearby: American Heroes Portrait Exhibit Opens Aug. 4.

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In recognition of the 70th anniversary of the end of World War II, Belmont Village Senior Living has teamed with nationally recognized photographer Thomas Sanders to capture the images and words of veterans from all ranks and branches of service.

Sanders visited Belmont Village’s Buckhead and Johns Creek communities prior to July 4 to capture the compelling veteran stories, predominantly from World War II era, and create distinctive portraits of the residents with personal memorabilia from their war experiences, offering an everyman perspective as we near the final chapter on this piece of American history.

The iconic portraits of the residents, along with a bit of their service history, will become a part of a permanent gallery at the communities, in recognition and gratitude to all who have served.

The opening day for those galleries will be held at 4 p.m. Tuesday, Aug. 4 at Belmont Village Senior Living Johns Creek, located at 4315 Johns Creek Parkway in unincorporated Suwanee; and 4 p.m. Wednesday, Aug. 5 at Belmont Village Senior Living Buckhead, located at 5455 Glenridge Drive NE in Sandy Springs.

Belmont Village Senior Living originally commissioned Sanders to photograph residents across the country for their American Heroes Project in 2008.

Sanders began his veteran project in 2005 as a college student and has been photographing veterans at Belmont Village communities for more than six years, gathering a portfolio of more than 500 veterans to date.

As a result of the partnership between Belmont and Sanders, a collection of Sanders’ images and their accompanying stories taken in the first five years of his project, The Last Good War: The Faces and Voices of WW II, was published in the fall of 2010.

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Photo: Belmont Village Johns Creek resident