[Apologies if this has been previously diaried, I couldn't find any reference to it]
A picture speaks a thousand words. Many pictures tell a whole story, and the link that I post below tells an entire story that is both moving, haunting and provides a vivid image of the life of a young soldier serving in Iraq.
Veterans Day (or Remembrance Day, as I prefer to call it, given my years of living in the UK; or Armistice Day as it is called here) is a solemn occasion: but I think that it is not only about recalling the terrible loss of life in the abstract, it is also about reminding us of the humanity behind each solider: that every single one is and was a human being with dignity, feelings, doubts, fears, joys, frustrations, a soul. Only when we can remember, affirm and celebrate our common humanity can we as a society move forward in the quest for lasting peace.
Whatever the motives of the young man in the linked photo diary, I think we must not lose sight of these things. It is what binds us to one another. And it is what can undo us when we forget.
I came across this story when reading the Guardian this morning. It tells of a photojournalist, Craig Walker from the Denver Post, who followed the life of an young army recruit before and during his deployment to Iraq. The young soldier is Ian Fisher, and the resulting portrait is a very human one.
As the Guardian says:
The Denver Post blog on which this photographic essay appears is packed with comments. Some see a tale of pride and courage, others a propagandist endorsement of the US war effort. But the real story is the old story, unchanged since Wilfred Owen told it: the use of boys who know no better as cannon fodder. Ian Fisher may have survived but plenty haven't. And even his happy ending is only provisional.
You can make up your own minds. I've made up mine.
Click here to enter the photo project:
http://photos.denverpost.com/...