The soldier reading to a child via the Internet in a photo that went viral earlier this month has been identified, but he wants to stay anonymous, according to his sister.
The photo was taken June 28 by 16-year-old Hannah Pancho at the cafe of the Lakewood Barnes & Noble bookstore. Pancho and the book’s author, Amanda Noll, had tried without success to find the soldier.
A woman contacted The News Tribune after the newspaper published a story on the photo to say the soldier is her brother, but that he does not want to be identified.
“To respect his privacy, he’s asking not to be put out there,” she said. The News Tribune is not identifying her because she has the same surname as her brother.
The woman said her brother was speaking to his child over the Internet in the photo.
“He’s just doing what he has to do to stay connected with his son,” she said.
She said their immediate family was moved by the story.
“As soon as we all read it, we all started crying,” she said.
alexis.krell@thenewstribune.com253-597-8268
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