A cutout photo of Marine Cpl. Ryan Welch rests in a chair in his parent’s home in Rossford, Ohio, just before Thanksgiving. When Cpl. Welch was deployed to Afghanistan two years ago, it was hard not having that familiar face at the tight-knit family’s parties, holiday celebrations, and weddings. So his sister Megan made a foam photo cutout of her older brother. When Welch can’t get home for a family celebration, “Flat-Ryan” is his stand-in. The family has chronicled their 2-D son’s stories in a photo book, The Adventures of Flat Ryan, while the 3-D Ryan was deployed in Afghanistan for two tours in 2009 and 2011. Welch couldn’t get home for Thanksgiving this year from Camp Lejeune, N.C., so Flat Ryan had to fill in again.(AP Photo/The Blade, Lori King)
Flat Ryan
