Photo by Platon
(CNN) Jessica Gray stands tall and strong, wearing her late husband's Army T-shirt. His wedding ring rests on a chain around her neck, as her arms wrap tightly and emotionally around the folded
American flag that was draped over his coffin just a few months earlier.
Prior to this picture, the metal box containing his belongings had remained at the edge of her bed, unopened.
Until photographer Platon Antoniou helped Gray pry it open.
Platon, who goes by his first name, had met Gray in 2008 when he began working on "Service," a collection of portraits looking at the effects of war on America's military and their families. He had suggested she wear an item of her husband's as a tribute in her portrait.
But all of his clothing was in that box. Platon said she suggested they open it together. They both knelt down and undid a latch each.
"She burst into tears. And I suddenly felt so ashamed of myself. Here I was for the sake of a photograph, encouraging her to step into this pain all over again," Platon said.
"She looked at me and she said: 'You don't understand why I'm crying, Platon. I'm crying because they've washed his clothes. And I wanted to smell him again.' "
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