Warriors for Peace
The stories and emotions behind Iraq and Afghanistan war veterans who are now working for peace. This project was recently accepted by the Blue Earth Alliance.
We as a nation and a people are disconnected from the reality, intimacy, and emotions of war and especially from the soldiers who fight them. We see the wars as “over there”, being fought between the “troops” and the “insurgents”, we see the dead and wounded as digits in a body count, and those who resist as defectors or protesters. In our minds, soldiers become instruments that fight for our freedoms and protections, devoid of emotions or morals that might conflict with the mission, never mind first and last names. Simply put we forget their humanity. And in doing so, we make the justifications for war and occupation that much easier to accept.
Through the use of intimate portraits and in depth audio interviews, this project challenges that perception of the soldier and reintroduces us to them as humans with distinct and varying sets of emotions, morals and beliefs. Specifically it looks deeply at the emotions and feelings behind their decision to oppose the wars they have been a part of. Was it anger at a corrupt system, compassion for those whose country and people they found themselves destroying, a sense of betrayal from the government they were fighting for, or sadness over the level of death and destruction they were a part of? I have found that while each veteran may have several stories and reasons why they oppose the wars, there is usually one underlying emotion that drives their transformation. While I aim to document their stories, it is the emotions that are highlighted in this project as a means for providing a space for the viewers to relate to the veterans on a very personal level. In creating that space and reintroducing the public to the humanity and emotion of the soldier, this project challenges the ease with which we accept war.
The stories and emotions behind Iraq and Afghanistan war veterans who are now working for peace. This project was recently accepted by the Blue Earth Alliance.
We as a nation and a people are disconnected from the reality, intimacy, and emotions of war and especially from the soldiers who fight them. We see the wars as “over there”, being fought between the “troops” and the “insurgents”, we see the dead and wounded as digits in a body count, and those who resist as defectors or protesters. In our minds, soldiers become instruments that fight for our freedoms and protections, devoid of emotions or morals that might conflict with the mission, never mind first and last names. Simply put we forget their humanity. And in doing so, we make the justifications for war and occupation that much easier to accept.
Through the use of intimate portraits and in depth audio interviews, this project challenges that perception of the soldier and reintroduces us to them as humans with distinct and varying sets of emotions, morals and beliefs. Specifically it looks deeply at the emotions and feelings behind their decision to oppose the wars they have been a part of. Was it anger at a corrupt system, compassion for those whose country and people they found themselves destroying, a sense of betrayal from the government they were fighting for, or sadness over the level of death and destruction they were a part of? I have found that while each veteran may have several stories and reasons why they oppose the wars, there is usually one underlying emotion that drives their transformation. While I aim to document their stories, it is the emotions that are highlighted in this project as a means for providing a space for the viewers to relate to the veterans on a very personal level. In creating that space and reintroducing the public to the humanity and emotion of the soldier, this project challenges the ease with which we accept war.
Maggie Martin deployed once to Kuwait and twice to Iraq. She was a part of the initial invasion in 2003. “I think about the kids I met in the market that were 10, 11, 12 years old that are now 14,15, 16 year old young men who have had an occupation in their country their whole adolescence and I wonder what it must be like for them having their whole childhood destroyed by this war and the occupation. I’m sure all the happy little kids that were there in 2003 that were getting candy from us and standing on the side of the road, are probably now a large part of the Iraqi resistance and I don’t blame them.”
Maggie Martin, Iraq War Veteran from Savannah, GA
Maggie Martin, Iraq War Veteran from Savannah, GA
After three months in Iraq, the vehicle Zack was traveling in was blown up by an improvised explosive device. He was sent back to the states for several months to recover from his injuries and then voluntarily redeployed to Iraq for the remainder of his tour. “I went back thinking that maybe we were going to do some good. But it continued, day in day out, countless pointless missions… It was a lost cause, we went over there, we participated in things we probably shouldn’t have participated in, we made choices we’ll have to live with forever and then we get on a plane and come back here and nothing is ever said about it…”
Zack Choate, Iraq War Veteran from Atlanta GA
Zack Choate, Iraq War Veteran from Atlanta GA
Jeremy Archambeault was a mortuary technician while serving in Iraq. That is a fancy term for the soldier who deals with the bodies of his fallen comrades and stated enemies. He has been scared deeply by the horrors he has witnessed and remains frustrated by the continuation of those horrors. He was photographed several blocks from where he grew up and still lives in Chicago, in front of a building whose windows were full of photographs of soldiers who have died in Iraq.
Jeremy Archambeault, Iraq War Veteran from Chicago, IL.
Jeremy Archambeault, Iraq War Veteran from Chicago, IL.
While serving as a Calvary sniper in Iraq, Garett Reppenhagen began speaking out against the war on a blog he co-authored called ‘Fight To Survive,” the first anti-war blog from an enlisted soldier. He hasn’t stopped since. He has been amazingly active in his efforts to enlist more veterans and active duty soldiers to resist the war. He has spoken at and helped organize a large number of rallies and events, and has been interviewed on both radio and T.V numerous times. He is grounded in his courage to say what he believes needs to be said- “As an ex- United States cavalry sniper… my goals are to stir the peaceful revolution into reality and share my experiences by means of any expression I can master.”
Garett Reppenhagen, Iraq war veteran from Manitou Springs, CO.
Garett Reppenhagen, Iraq war veteran from Manitou Springs, CO.
“No one is being liberated.” William Stewart-Stark deployed to the Anbar Province of Iraq as a medic in 2004 in full support of the war. He soon began to wonder though, why he was even there and what they were really fighting for. “We knew we weren’t fighting Al- Qaeda, we were fighting civilians who were fighting back and were just perpetuating the violence.” Still, William wanted to believe he and his fellow soldiers were part of a just cause. The longer he spent in Iraq the more holes he began to see in what the media had been telling him before he deployed. While deployed though, he had very little time or energy to really process what he was a part of and it wasn’t until he was back in the U.S. that he began to put the war into historical, political, and economic context. Then he was sure that it must be stopped. William now heads up an organization on the University of Kansas campus in Lawrence, Kansas that is made up of students and veterans who are working to end the wars.
William Stewart-Stark, Iraq War Veteran from Lawrence, KS.
William Stewart-Stark, Iraq War Veteran from Lawrence, KS.
Coming from a military family, Jared Hood enthusiastically joined the military in 2000. Four years later he made the conscious decision to go AWOL, stating, “I can no longer serve a government that can justify an occupation.” He was angered and felt betrayed by the lies of his government and a citizenry that was all too willing to accept them. “Being in the army forced me to wake up to the lie I had been living my whole life and the lies I had been fed by my family, society and government and I was outright disgusted. I still am.”
Jared Hood, Iraq War Veteran from Denver, CO.
Jared Hood, Iraq War Veteran from Denver, CO.
Domingo Rosas served in Iraq as a sergeant. From April 2003 to 2004 he was a guard in a detention center. Some of the images of abuse and torture he witnessed “seared themselves into my minds eye and I can’t forget them, I won’t forget them.” He is haunted by those images and the memories of the friend he lost in Iraq. He speaks out against the war out of necessity and has found a form of therapy in working with the other members of Iraq Veterans Against the War.
Domingo Rosas, Iraq War Veteran from Colorado Springs, CO.
Domingo Rosas, Iraq War Veteran from Colorado Springs, CO.
Cameron White deployed to Iraq twice. Before his first deployment he was in full support of the war. When he got there though, he found himself securing oil fields, causing him to wonder what the real intention of the mission was. After extensive research and re-education Cameron began working within the peace movement while still on active duty. He was introduced to Buddhism by a fellow soldier in Iraq, and upon returning from his second tour he began studying with Claude Anshin Thomas, a Vietnam veteran turned Buddhist monk. “Buddhism is about understanding the self. In the military the mentality that is encouraged is to do things without asking question and not look at the humanity involved and the consequences. What drew me to Buddhism and opened my eyes within the practice was realizing that I have to pay attention to what I am doing each and every moment because there are consequences to all the choices we make.” Cameron now works for Disabled American Veterans and sees his work as service to the world.
Cameron White, Iraq War Veterans from Los Angeles, CA.
Cameron White, Iraq War Veterans from Los Angeles, CA.
“I joined the army to protect my family,” says Floyd Holt. He deployed to Iraq in 2005 in full support of the war and it’s mission. With his wife at home pregnant with their first son, he felt he was doing what needed to be done. However, “after seeing the death and destruction of Iraqi families, it made me question what I was really doing there and eventually I realized that to really protect my family and country I needed to end my part in this illegal and unjust war.” Floyd got his tattoo after returning from Iraq while he was still enlisted, to remind himself and others that the army, the death and destruction that it represented could not take his soul and his humanity from him.
Floyd Holt, Iraq War Veteran from Brooklyn, CT.
Floyd Holt, Iraq War Veteran from Brooklyn, CT.
To see the complete series, please see my official site. You can also make tax deductible donations there as well.
