|
I leaned up against the humvee and cried in the parking lot of Fallujah Surgical.
I knew right then I was not cut out for this type of work.
It was even worse a few weeks later on a rainy night in Baghdad...
On Memorial Day a column ran in the NY Times (Not to see the Fallen is no Favor) about the rules for photographing an injured Soldier or Marine.
The author wrote about how he had to seek permission from the wounded before using the photo.
The editors obviously thought this column was perfect for Memorial Day.
I disagree. The times I have been around injured Marines I pitched in to help. I ran to get the stretcher. The only photos I have taken of an injured person were of a Soldier treating an Iraqi man for shrapnel wounds. You see the soldier doing his job, but not the face of the Iraqi man. You see the Marines saving a wounded comrade, their friend, Ali.
If I were to be wounded while embeded with Soldiers, Seabees or Marines they would provide medical attention and likely risk their lives to protect me and save my life.
I feel I should reciprocate because these young men and a few women I roll with outside the wire would not stand around snapping photos of me while I bled out--they would do what they do best. Save Lives.
And it is because they are the ones willing to put their lives on the line for a cause many no longer support and that they themselves may not support that I cannot stand to see anyone of them hurt.
In Camp Fallujah the medevac helicopters fly right over the media room. In Baghdad, the medevac helicopters are easy to spot. I hate seeing and hearing them.
And in TQ, the surgical hospital is right there on the flight line--the injured Marines wheeled out on carts into helos for a flight to Baghdad or Balaad.
The medical staff was calm and professional, the helicopter crew chief determined to get these Marines to the next level of care.
I stood there crying, leaning against a humvee.
In Baghdad, on a rainy night a Hero flight. Scores of Soldiers stood in the rain at the position of attention, then a hand salute as the helo flew off--the first leg of the final trip home.
I didn't know the individual Soldiers or Marines but I have met so many that I knew who they were--the few who will stand in the gap.
At every infantry company I embed with I am invariably asked if I'm 'one of those reporters who takes pictures of wounded guys?'
I tell them that I go run for the stretcher.
Perhaps I do not have what it takes to be a big-time big-media reporter.
If wanting to take photos of severly injured young men is what makes you a serious journalist - I don't want to be serious journalist.
All of JD's income is supported through DVD sales and reader contributions. Please help JD so he can continue to report on his personal experiences with our military and the war in Iraq.
Freedom isn't free...and neither is reporting from Iraq. To help offset the costs of independent reporting and filmmaking of our military, please...
BUY A DVD
OR, make a contribution by choosing one of the options below.
We are providing a new service that allows people to make regular (monthly) contributions to support JD's work if you wish to do so. You can also make a one time contribution through BlogPatron. Click on the BlogPatron link below.
This kind of work (reporting from Iraq, traveling to and from Iraq) requires a high level of personal and financial commitment, which is better supported through BlogPatron's regular contributions than just one-time contributions.
|
