thedrifter
11-15-03, 07:28 AM
Book documents Camp Pendleton infantry unit's battle to Iraqi captial
Submitted by: MCB Camp Pendleton
Story Identification Number: 20031114173653
Story by Gunnery Sgt. Matt Hevezi
MARINE CORPS BASE CAMP PENDLETON, Calif.(Nov. 13, 2003) -- While riding on a United Nations helicopter patrol along the demilitarized zone separating Iraq and Kuwait in 1993, I realized just how awful the Iraqis had it under Saddam Hussein.
My escort was a U.N. officer from France. As we zipped above the desert floor, he pointed out Iraqi guard outposts. The French officer occasionally inspected both Iraqi and Kuwaiti outposts during his tour of duty patrolling the DMZ.
I will never forget what he told me of his visits to the Iraqi men who pulled DMZ outpost duty.
They had no electricity, running water, medical support or communication and very little food. Summer temperatures ?120 degrees Fahrenheit. Every day.
The Iraqi men inside these desolate outposts were not real soldiers. They were common men ? butchers, bakers, welders and plumbers pulled from their civilian lives and ordered into duty.
To be forced into DMZ outpost duty was considered the worst assignment for an Iraqi soldier. To refuse would mean they and their families would suffer beatings, imprisonment and in the worst cases execution.
Unimaginable.
Examining the pages of Hayne Palmour and Darrin Mortenson's book, "A Thousand Miles to Baghdad," I couldn't help but feel good about relieving the Iraqi people from their brutal existence under Hussein.
The photographs that unfold, page after page, tell a graphic, no-nonsense, what-you-see-is-what-you-get story of men from Company L, 3rd Battalion, 1st Marine Regiment and the thousands of Iraqis they saved and liberated from further suffering.
Palmour said his photographs are a record of history. Armed with two Nikon D1H digital camera bodies, three lenses, a laptop computer, a satellite phone and a lot of courage, Palmour did more than just document history.
Throughout the book, readers see, and to some extent feel, exactly what the Marines saw and felt as they fought their way to Baghdad.
There are dramatic, story-telling photographs, like the one on page 118 of an exhausted 53-year-old Master Sgt. Keith La France.
"He's the guy who kept the entire battalion of (tracked vehicles) rolling," Palmour said of the photograph that shows physically and emotionally drained La France after finally arriving in Baghdad. La France is sitting drooped alongside a column of the armored vehicles known as "tracks."
"The things they were doing to keep the tracks rolling were amazing," Palmour said.
Not all the photographs were pleasant to make, Palmour said. Among the most difficult scenes to photograph was a series of images that appear on pages 68-69. They show the tragic and bloody aftermath of a vehicle takedown that had a family inside.
"The mother had died, and when you think about it as you're shooting (pictures), you get teared up," Palmour said of what it is like to maintain composure while capturing such heart-wrenching scenes of human suffering. "The Marine running her back, his eyes were wet too."
As a photographer for the North County Times, Pendleton's hometown newspaper, Palmour is no stranger to photographing Marines. The Leathernecks have been part of his beat for the past 12 years. Embedding as a photojournalist with 3/1 in Iraq was not his first experience covering Marines in combat. He took his camera to Somalia with a Pendleton-based helicopter squadron during Operation Restore Hope.
For the photojournalist, there is no way to bring readers directly into the scenes without being there yourself. Palmour did just that to present the 150 photographs that appear in the book. He estimates, though, that he produced more than 20,000 images while covering the Marines in Iraq.
On pages 51-53, Palmour is right there with the Marines during the heat of battle in An Nasiriyah, the site of some of the war's deadliest combat. Eighteen Marines lost their lives while fighting there.
On page 54, Palmour's camera captures 1st Lt. Harry Thompson covering the remains of a dead Marine on the streets of An Nasiriyah. Palmour was very close when he snapped this photo. It covers two full pages and is powerful enough that one can almost smell death.
A cleaner but perhaps more complicated photo of 1st Marine Division Commanding General Maj. Gen. James Mattis is presented early in the book on page 8. It is easy to look at. At first glance it may not seem to be a fantastic photograph, but it is.
The general is about to lead his men into combat. Although only Mattis knows what thoughts weighed on his heart the moment the shutter fell to make this photo, it has an eerie feel to it ? almost as if he is contemplating the certainty of losing his own sons in battle.
There are photos, however, that do not carry such heaviness. One in particular ? which also happens to be my favorite in the whole book ? has little to do with the impending deadly mission and more about the innocence of Marines not yet baptized by hardcore combat.
Some war photography critics may say such photos like the one on page 19 that shows shirtless Marines playing a rugged game of tackle football in warm late-afternoon sunlight are not serious or important.
I disagree, partly because I am a Marine. But more so because I understand that these Marines are going to be profoundly changed by what they are about to endure for the Iraqis, for America ? but most of all for each other.
The football photograph is simply wonderful in that sense.
And then there is the cover photograph. It is a direct image that really carries with it a message that Palmour described as something along the lines of "Now what?"
Palmour said the book editors who looked at potential cover photos initially passed by the photo that he and writer Darrin Mortenson "kept coming back to."
"No single image screamed 'this is our cover,' but we kept coming back to that corporal with that stare," Palmour said about editing sessions that included debates over what photo should appear on the cover.
Palmour said the photo is an excellent cover choice because the Marines expected a big battle when they arrived in Baghdad, but that "on the second day the whole city was celebrating and all of a sudden every Marine was a rock star."
Now as Pendleton Marines prepare for a return to Iraq in spring 2004, Palmour said he would certainly return with them if his editors will send him.
Of his first round in Iraq with the Marines, Palmour said, "It was scary at times, miserable at times... but all worth it."
Photographer Hayne Palmour and writer Darrin Mortenson are scheduled to visit the Camp Horno Exchange Nov. 14 from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. to sign their book "A Thousand Miles to Baghdad." The book is published by the North County Times and is available at bookstores both on and off base.
http://www.usmc.mil/marinelink/image1.nsf/Lookup/20031114173820/$file/iraqbook2lr.jpg
An Iraqi prisoner who Marines said was an enemy sniper sings to calm himself as Marines rush past into a burning power plant. The Marines detonated several large fuel tanks in an attempt to kill other snipers throught to remain inside the plant. Photo by: Hayne Palmour, North County Times
http://www.usmc.mil/marinelink/mcn2000.nsf/main5/5E76210FDB3A48FF85256DDE007C3A20?opendocument
Sempers,
Roger
:marine:
Submitted by: MCB Camp Pendleton
Story Identification Number: 20031114173653
Story by Gunnery Sgt. Matt Hevezi
MARINE CORPS BASE CAMP PENDLETON, Calif.(Nov. 13, 2003) -- While riding on a United Nations helicopter patrol along the demilitarized zone separating Iraq and Kuwait in 1993, I realized just how awful the Iraqis had it under Saddam Hussein.
My escort was a U.N. officer from France. As we zipped above the desert floor, he pointed out Iraqi guard outposts. The French officer occasionally inspected both Iraqi and Kuwaiti outposts during his tour of duty patrolling the DMZ.
I will never forget what he told me of his visits to the Iraqi men who pulled DMZ outpost duty.
They had no electricity, running water, medical support or communication and very little food. Summer temperatures ?120 degrees Fahrenheit. Every day.
The Iraqi men inside these desolate outposts were not real soldiers. They were common men ? butchers, bakers, welders and plumbers pulled from their civilian lives and ordered into duty.
To be forced into DMZ outpost duty was considered the worst assignment for an Iraqi soldier. To refuse would mean they and their families would suffer beatings, imprisonment and in the worst cases execution.
Unimaginable.
Examining the pages of Hayne Palmour and Darrin Mortenson's book, "A Thousand Miles to Baghdad," I couldn't help but feel good about relieving the Iraqi people from their brutal existence under Hussein.
The photographs that unfold, page after page, tell a graphic, no-nonsense, what-you-see-is-what-you-get story of men from Company L, 3rd Battalion, 1st Marine Regiment and the thousands of Iraqis they saved and liberated from further suffering.
Palmour said his photographs are a record of history. Armed with two Nikon D1H digital camera bodies, three lenses, a laptop computer, a satellite phone and a lot of courage, Palmour did more than just document history.
Throughout the book, readers see, and to some extent feel, exactly what the Marines saw and felt as they fought their way to Baghdad.
There are dramatic, story-telling photographs, like the one on page 118 of an exhausted 53-year-old Master Sgt. Keith La France.
"He's the guy who kept the entire battalion of (tracked vehicles) rolling," Palmour said of the photograph that shows physically and emotionally drained La France after finally arriving in Baghdad. La France is sitting drooped alongside a column of the armored vehicles known as "tracks."
"The things they were doing to keep the tracks rolling were amazing," Palmour said.
Not all the photographs were pleasant to make, Palmour said. Among the most difficult scenes to photograph was a series of images that appear on pages 68-69. They show the tragic and bloody aftermath of a vehicle takedown that had a family inside.
"The mother had died, and when you think about it as you're shooting (pictures), you get teared up," Palmour said of what it is like to maintain composure while capturing such heart-wrenching scenes of human suffering. "The Marine running her back, his eyes were wet too."
As a photographer for the North County Times, Pendleton's hometown newspaper, Palmour is no stranger to photographing Marines. The Leathernecks have been part of his beat for the past 12 years. Embedding as a photojournalist with 3/1 in Iraq was not his first experience covering Marines in combat. He took his camera to Somalia with a Pendleton-based helicopter squadron during Operation Restore Hope.
For the photojournalist, there is no way to bring readers directly into the scenes without being there yourself. Palmour did just that to present the 150 photographs that appear in the book. He estimates, though, that he produced more than 20,000 images while covering the Marines in Iraq.
On pages 51-53, Palmour is right there with the Marines during the heat of battle in An Nasiriyah, the site of some of the war's deadliest combat. Eighteen Marines lost their lives while fighting there.
On page 54, Palmour's camera captures 1st Lt. Harry Thompson covering the remains of a dead Marine on the streets of An Nasiriyah. Palmour was very close when he snapped this photo. It covers two full pages and is powerful enough that one can almost smell death.
A cleaner but perhaps more complicated photo of 1st Marine Division Commanding General Maj. Gen. James Mattis is presented early in the book on page 8. It is easy to look at. At first glance it may not seem to be a fantastic photograph, but it is.
The general is about to lead his men into combat. Although only Mattis knows what thoughts weighed on his heart the moment the shutter fell to make this photo, it has an eerie feel to it ? almost as if he is contemplating the certainty of losing his own sons in battle.
There are photos, however, that do not carry such heaviness. One in particular ? which also happens to be my favorite in the whole book ? has little to do with the impending deadly mission and more about the innocence of Marines not yet baptized by hardcore combat.
Some war photography critics may say such photos like the one on page 19 that shows shirtless Marines playing a rugged game of tackle football in warm late-afternoon sunlight are not serious or important.
I disagree, partly because I am a Marine. But more so because I understand that these Marines are going to be profoundly changed by what they are about to endure for the Iraqis, for America ? but most of all for each other.
The football photograph is simply wonderful in that sense.
And then there is the cover photograph. It is a direct image that really carries with it a message that Palmour described as something along the lines of "Now what?"
Palmour said the book editors who looked at potential cover photos initially passed by the photo that he and writer Darrin Mortenson "kept coming back to."
"No single image screamed 'this is our cover,' but we kept coming back to that corporal with that stare," Palmour said about editing sessions that included debates over what photo should appear on the cover.
Palmour said the photo is an excellent cover choice because the Marines expected a big battle when they arrived in Baghdad, but that "on the second day the whole city was celebrating and all of a sudden every Marine was a rock star."
Now as Pendleton Marines prepare for a return to Iraq in spring 2004, Palmour said he would certainly return with them if his editors will send him.
Of his first round in Iraq with the Marines, Palmour said, "It was scary at times, miserable at times... but all worth it."
Photographer Hayne Palmour and writer Darrin Mortenson are scheduled to visit the Camp Horno Exchange Nov. 14 from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. to sign their book "A Thousand Miles to Baghdad." The book is published by the North County Times and is available at bookstores both on and off base.
http://www.usmc.mil/marinelink/image1.nsf/Lookup/20031114173820/$file/iraqbook2lr.jpg
An Iraqi prisoner who Marines said was an enemy sniper sings to calm himself as Marines rush past into a burning power plant. The Marines detonated several large fuel tanks in an attempt to kill other snipers throught to remain inside the plant. Photo by: Hayne Palmour, North County Times
http://www.usmc.mil/marinelink/mcn2000.nsf/main5/5E76210FDB3A48FF85256DDE007C3A20?opendocument
Sempers,
Roger
:marine: