A Snapshot From Hell

Another dusty field. This time it's a young Marine, carried on a litter—both legs shredded by an IED, the signature weapon of the war in Afghanistan. "Talk about profiles in courage," Nachtwey says of the veterans on this spread and the next, in which the flight medic and crew chief keep the wounded Marine from passing out so he can help fight for his own life. "Whiskey Tango Foxtrot are the only words that come to mind, along with a silent prayer. I was humbled by the courage and determination I witnessed in the face of such catastrophic loss." The Marine lost both legs but survived. "WE'VE HEARD THE EXPRESSION 'HEARTS AND MINDS' SO OFTEN, DO WE STILL UNDERSTAND WHAT IT MEANS? IT'S IMPOSED BY FORCE, BUT DOES IT IN ANY WAY REFLECT A SHARED SET OF VALUES? IS IT LASTING OR IS IT FORGOTTEN AS SOON AS THE MEN WITH GUNS LEAVE THE VILLAGE? ARE ONLY THE HEARTS AND MINDS OF THE LOCAL POPULATION CONSIDERED IMPORTANT? WHAT ABOUT THE HEARTS AND MINDS OF OUR OWN COMBATANTS?" —WAR PHOTOGRAPHER JAMES NACHTWEY '70, WHO PHOTOGRAPHED THIS U.S. ARMY MEDEVAC IN MARJA, AFGHANISTAN, IN DECEMBER 2010