2005 Photo Contest, Portraits, 2nd prize
Photographer

Nina Berman

Redux Pictures for Mother Jones

17 December, 2003

American military personnel, injured by insurgent activity in Iraq, re-adjust to life back home: Army Specialist Luis Calderon (22), of Bayamon, Puerto Rico, was a tank operator assigned to the Delta Company Fourth Infantry Division Forward Support Battalion. On 5 May 2003, in Saddam Hussein's hometown Tikrit, Calderon was ordered to destory a mural with the image of Saddam. During the demolition, the wall crashed on the tank's open hatch, breaking Calderon's neck and severing his spinal cord, leaving him quadriplegic. He was photographed at the Veteren's Hospital.

About the photographer

Nina Berman

Nina Berman has been an editorial and documentary photographer for more than 20 years, focusing primarily on the American political and social landscape. She is the author of Pur...

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