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Chris Hondros: A Slain Photog's Final Images

Getty photographer had been assaulted twice while in Libya

By Polly Davis Doig,  Newser Staff

Posted Apr 21, 2011 7:29 AM CDT

(Newser) – Chris Hondros, the Getty photographer killed in fighting in Misrata yesterday, had a love of chess, opera, and martinis, and he "wanted to show the world what was going on," a fellow photographer tells the New York Times. "He was willing to take the personal risk and make the personal sacrifices to go along with that.” Click through the gallery above for images taken by Hondros during his final days, along with photos of him.

Hondros—who had a penchant for wearing blazers in war zones—had been assaulted twice during his time in Egypt, the Times notes, yet went out of his way to protect a female photographer. “She kept getting manhandled as she made her way through the square and Chris made it a real purpose to protect her,” says another photographer. “He was standing behind her and chatting up the men and embarrassing them to the point that they would leave her alone—while concentrating on what he was doing.”

A Libyan rebel fighter celebrates as comrades fire on government troops who refused to surrender in a surrounded building (background) on April 20, 2011 in Misrata, Libya.
A Libyan rebel fighter celebrates as comrades fire on government troops who refused to surrender in a surrounded building (background) on April 20, 2011 in Misrata, Libya.   (Getty Images)
A Libyan rebel fighter fires into a basement during in effort to dislodge government troops, April 20, 2011 in Misrata, Libya.
A Libyan rebel fighter fires into a basement during in effort to dislodge government troops, April 20, 2011 in Misrata, Libya.   (Getty Images)
A Libyan rebel fighter runs up a burning stairwell during an effort to dislodge government troops, April 20, 2011 in Misrata, Libya.
A Libyan rebel fighter runs up a burning stairwell during an effort to dislodge government troops, April 20, 2011 in Misrata, Libya.   (Getty Images)
Libyan rebel fighters discuss how to dislodge government troops during house-to-house fighting on Tripoli Street, April 20, 2011 in Misrata, Libya.
Libyan rebel fighters discuss how to dislodge government troops during house-to-house fighting on Tripoli Street, April 20, 2011 in Misrata, Libya.   (Getty Images)
Libyan rebels carry out a comrade wounded during an effort to dislodge government troops who were firing on them from a building (background), April 20, 2011 in Misrata, Libya.
Libyan rebels carry out a comrade wounded during an effort to dislodge government troops who were firing on them from a building (background), April 20, 2011 in Misrata, Libya.   (Getty Images)
A man cries in a graveyard during the funeral of Nasser Ali Afglio, a young Libyan rebel killed during battle with government troops, April 19, 2011 in Misrata, Libya.
A man cries in a graveyard during the funeral of Nasser Ali Afglio, a young Libyan rebel killed during battle with government troops, April 19, 2011 in Misrata, Libya.   (Getty Images)
Rebel fighters carefully move into a building where they had trapped government troops during street fighting on April 20, 2011 in Misurata, Libya.
Rebel fighters carefully move into a building where they had trapped government troops during street fighting on April 20, 2011 in Misurata, Libya.   (Getty Images)
Rebel fighters carefully move up a stairway in a building where they had trapped government troops during street fighting on April 20, 2011 in Misrata, Libya.
Rebel fighters carefully move up a stairway in a building where they had trapped government troops during street fighting on April 20, 2011 in Misrata, Libya.   (Getty Images)
A Libyan rebel fighter quickly rounds a corner and fires on trapped government loyalist troops a few meters away during fighting on April 20, 2011 in Misrata, Libya.
A Libyan rebel fighter quickly rounds a corner and fires on trapped government loyalist troops a few meters away during fighting on April 20, 2011 in Misrata, Libya.   (Getty Images)
Libyan rebel forces fire a heavy rocket propelled grenade at a building holding government troops during street fighting on April 20, 2011 in Misrata, Libya.
Libyan rebel forces fire a heavy rocket propelled grenade at a building holding government troops during street fighting on April 20, 2011 in Misrata, Libya.   (Getty Images)
Rebel fighters fire at government troops during street fighting on April 20, 2011 in Misurata, Libya.
Rebel fighters fire at government troops during street fighting on April 20, 2011 in Misurata, Libya.   (Getty Images)
Ziad, a brother of slain rebel Nasser Ali Afglio, is consoled by a friend during the funeral for the young Libyan rebel, April 19, 2011 in Misrata, Libya.
Ziad, a brother of slain rebel Nasser Ali Afglio, is consoled by a friend during the funeral for the young Libyan rebel, April 19, 2011 in Misrata, Libya.   (Getty Images/Chris Hondros)
A boy looks out from the back of a family car on a main road on April 18, 2011 in Misrata, Libya.
A boy looks out from the back of a family car on a main road on April 18, 2011 in Misrata, Libya.   (Getty Images/Chris Hondros)
Foreign workers from Nigeria, Ghana, and other African countries pile in the back of a truck trying to leave the besieged city of Misrata April 18, 2011 as the sun sets.
Foreign workers from Nigeria, Ghana, and other African countries pile in the back of a truck trying to leave the besieged city of Misrata April 18, 2011 as the sun sets.   (Getty Images/Chris Hondros)
A woman holds a baby who had suffered cuts from shrapnel that blasted through the window of his home earlier in the morning on April 18, 2011 in Misrata, Libya.
A woman holds a baby who had suffered cuts from shrapnel that blasted through the window of his home earlier in the morning on April 18, 2011 in Misrata, Libya.   (Getty Images/Chris Hondros)
Gravediggers turn the earth while digging a grave for a civilian victim of the Libyan conflict April 19, 2011 in Misrata, Libya.
Gravediggers turn the earth while digging a grave for a civilian victim of the Libyan conflict April 19, 2011 in Misrata, Libya.   (Getty Images/Chris Hondros)
Jeremy Haslam of the International Organisation for Migration follows the refrigerated truck carrying the bodies of Tim Hetherington and Chris Hondros onto a ferry in Misrata early on April 21, 2011.
Jeremy Haslam of the International Organisation for Migration follows the refrigerated truck carrying the bodies of Tim Hetherington and Chris Hondros onto a ferry in Misrata early on April 21, 2011.   (Getty Images)
Getty photographer Chris Hondros walks the ruins of a building Aug. 21, 2006 in southern Beirut, Lebanon. Hondros, 41, died Wednesday, April 20, 2011 after being seriously wounded in Misrata.
Getty photographer Chris Hondros walks the ruins of a building Aug. 21, 2006 in southern Beirut, Lebanon. Hondros, 41, died Wednesday, April 20, 2011 after being seriously wounded in Misrata.   (AP Photo/Getty Images)
Colleagues react as the bodies of photojournalists Tim Hetherington and Chris Hondros are loaded into a refrigerated truck for repatriation in Misrata early on April 21, 2011.
Colleagues react as the bodies of photojournalists Tim Hetherington and Chris Hondros are loaded into a refrigerated truck for repatriation in Misrata early on April 21, 2011.   (Getty Images)
Getty photographer Chris Hondros in Afghanistan. Hondros, 41, died Wednesday, April 20, 2011 after being seriously wounded while on assignment in Misrata, Libya.
Getty photographer Chris Hondros in Afghanistan. Hondros, 41, died Wednesday, April 20, 2011 after being seriously wounded while on assignment in Misrata, Libya.   (AP Photo/Getty Images)
Getty photographer Chris Hondros stands in front of a burning building while on assignment on Monday, April 18, 2011, in Misrata, Libya.
Getty photographer Chris Hondros stands in front of a burning building while on assignment on Monday, April 18, 2011, in Misrata, Libya.   (AP Photo/Getty Images)
Getty photographer Chris Hondros walks through the streets in Monrovia, Liberia. Hondros, 41, died Wednesday, April 20, 2011 after being seriously wounded on assignment in Misrata, Libya.
Getty photographer Chris Hondros walks through the streets in Monrovia, Liberia. Hondros, 41, died Wednesday, April 20, 2011 after being seriously wounded on assignment in Misrata, Libya.   (AP Photo/Getty Images)
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TARDIS
Apr 21, 2011 7:01 PM CDT
RIP

 
Libya • journalists killed • photographers • Getty Images • photojournalist • photojournalism • Libya protests • Misrata • Chris Hondros

 
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