Iraq war eyewitnesses: The stories behind the images
Several Los Angeles Times photojournalists were among those who risked their lives to chronicle the war in Iraq. The team included Don Bartletti, Bryan Chan, Carolyn Cole, Robert Gauthier, Rick Loomis, Luis Sinco, Wally Skalij and Brian van der Brug. Steve Stroud, The Times’ deputy director of photography, shepherded the process of dispatching the photographers, steering their coverage and ensuring fitting exposure of their work.
Witness to War
The war in Iraq, one of the longest and most politically divisive in U.S. history, drew to a close in December 2011. Several Los Angeles Times photojournalists were among those who risked their lives to chronicle the U.S. participation in the war.
Steve Stroud
Why we cover war
Steve Stroud, The Times’ deputy director of photography, shepherded the process of dispatching the photographers, steering their coverage and ensuring fitting exposure of their work.
Carolyn Cole
Introducing the Iraqi people
"It was those initial months when we had the maximum amount of freedom to cover Iraq and what was happening in the country."
Rick Loomis
Holding your own
"Even though I didn't receive their training, I could run with them. I could do the things they needed to do for themselves for myself. I didn't rely on them in those ways. You know, I think they respected me for that."
Brian van der Brug
The duty to tell the story
"The soldiers had to be there. They signed up and they had to go and I think as journalists, we have to go too."
Don Bartletti
Going in as a unilateral
"My experience in the Iraq war is remarkably symbolic. I struggled across the border illegally from Turkey into Iraq to cover what I thought was something that I wanted, I needed and that was images of war."
Wally Skalij
Driving into chaos
"The thing I was worried about the most was how these people were going to perceive me or accept me, but I found a lot of them wanted me to tell their story."
Bryan Chan
A momentary sweet spot
"The Iraq that I knew was a friendly Iraqi people but you could see things were starting to brew because we were starting to wear out our welcome."
Robert Gauthier
Dog and pony show
"Even though I know it was kind of just a dog and pony show, that I was trying to at least find some semblance of truth in, and the second one was a whole lot of truth going on I was just trying to make sense of."
Luis Sinco
Getting in too deep
"At that time my daughter was I believe 19. So I was thinking these are her friends, this is her age group."
BY ANN M. SIMMONS
The war in Iraq, one of the longest and most politically divisive in U.S. history, drew to a close in December 2011, when the last U.S. troops pulled out.
After nearly nine years of conflict, the forces left behind a country free of a dictator but mired in sectarian unrest, limping toward full democracy.
More poignant to the troops is what they took with them: Tens of thousands suffered injury, to the body and the mind, and they carried the memory of their fellow warriors, 4400 of whom met their deaths in Iraq. Upward of 100,000 Iraqis also died.
The campaign to liberate Iraq from the tyranny of Saddam Hussein eventually morphed into a nation-building operation. An insurgency grew, many Iraqis tired of the U.S. presence, and it became increasingly more dangerous not only for members of the American-led military coalition but also for the scores of journalists who swarmed Iraq to bear witness to history.
Several Los Angeles Times photojournalists were among those who risked their lives to chronicle the U.S. participation in the war. The team included Don Bartletti, Bryan Chan, Carolyn Cole, Robert Gauthier, Rick Loomis, Luis Sinco, Wally Skalij and Brian van der Brug.
Steve Stroud, The Times’ deputy director of photography, shepherded the process of dispatching the photographers, steering their coverage and ensuring fitting exposure of their work.
The images are heartwarming, heartbreaking, heart-stopping.
They tell of euphoria as American troops arrived in Baghdad, the capital, buoyed by the cheers of the Iraqi people.
They document the country’s frightening descent into sectarian violence and the sea change in Iraqis’ attitude toward American troops — once praised by many as liberators, then condemned and targeted as occupiers.
They capture the everyday lives of Iraqi civilians as they struggled to navigate the restive post-Hussein landscape, sometimes finding themselves caught in the crossfire.
Some of the photographers were embedded with U.S. military units, a restrictive arrangement but often the only way to be with troops on the front lines.
They saw how soldiers — many in their teens and early 20s — battled, bled and died. Sometimes the front became too upfront and photographers found themselves in too deep.
This series of videos presents searing images that highlight aspects of a war declared officially over by the U.S. on Dec. 15, 2011, but whose impact will continue to be felt for years to come.
Video: Bryan Chan, Albert Lee, Jason Neubert