Photographer Haunted by Iraq Death

Did a soldier die so he could get a picture, he wonders in talk about book

By Kevin Spak, Newser Staff

Posted Nov 4, 2007 7:31 AM CST

(Newser) – Photographer Ashley Gilbertson tried to be as emotionally removed as possible while working in Iraq, but once he let soldiers protect him as he ran to get a close-up. There was a shot, Gilbertson felt blood; one of the men protecting him was killed. It's something he has deeply regretted ever since, he told NPR as he discussed his new book about his experiences, "Whiskey Tango Foxtrot: A Photographer's Chronicle of the Iraq War."

Gilbertson was a freelancer when he went to Iraq at the age of 25. “I was stupid,” he admits. "I would not take the risks that I took back then." Gilbertson says he believes that most people who work or live in Iraq have a moment which "haunts them for the rest of their life"—and he hopes his book will spark discussions about post-traumatic stress disorder triggered by those experiences.

[Images (4)]

[Videos (2)]

Gilbertson's work is seen in this YouTube screen capture. (ucbooks (YouTube))

War photographer, Ashley Gilbertson. (joannahayley (YouTube))

War photographer, Ashley Gilbertson is interviewed in this YouTube still. (ucbooks (YouTube))

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Photographer Haunted by Iraq Death