War Is Personal. Carlos Arredondo's son Alexander, a lance-corporal with the US Marines was killed in combat in Najaf, Iraq, on Carlos's birthday. By the end of 2009, over 4,300 men and women from US military forces had been killed and some 30,000 maimed or wounded since the beginning of the conflict in Iraq. The incidence of stress-related illness and military suicides was increasing.

War Is Personal. Tomas Young was paralyzed from the chest down after being shot in the spine during an ambush on his fourth day in Iraq. By the end of 2009, over 4,300 men and women from US military forces had been killed and some 30,000 maimed or wounded since the beginning of the conflict in Iraq. The incidence of stress-related illness and military suicides was increasing.

War Is Personal. A brain injury following an anti-tank mine explosion left Shurvon Phillip unable to speak and in need of constant care. His mother, Gail Ulerie, sleeps beside him every night. By the end of 2009, over 4,300 men and women from US military forces had been killed and some 30,000 maimed or wounded since the beginning of the conflict in Iraq. The incidence of stress-related illness and military suicides was increasing.

War Is Personal. Dusty Hill, a former sergeant with the Illinois National Guard, lost both hands and an eye and suffered fourth-degree burns on a third of his body during an insurgent attack in Baghdad. He has learned to change his daughter's diapers and feed her with his mechanical right hand. By the end of 2009, over 4,300 men and women from US military forces had been killed and some 30,000 maimed or wounded since the beginning of the conflict in Iraq.

War Is Personal. Dusty Hill, a former sergeant with the Illinois National Guard, lost both hands and an eye and suffered fourth-degree burns on a third of his body during an insurgent attack in Baghdad. He has learned to change his daughter's diapers and feed her with his mechanical right hand. By the end of 2009, over 4,300 men and women from US military forces had been killed and some 30,000 maimed or wounded since the beginning of the conflict in Iraq.

War Is Personal. Army Sergeant Princess C. Samuels was killed in indirect fire (gunfire delivered at a target that cannot be seen from the firing position) in Taji, north of Baghdad. She was one of more than 100 female troops killed in action since the war started in 2003. By the end of 2009, over 4,300 men and women from US military forces had been killed and some 30,000 maimed or wounded since the beginning of the conflict in Iraq.

War Is Personal. Army Sergeant Princess C. Samuels was killed in indirect fire (gunfire delivered at a target that cannot be seen from the firing position) in Taji, north of Baghdad. She was one of more than 100 female troops killed in action since the war started in 2003. By the end of 2009, over 4,300 men and women from US military forces had been killed and some 30,000 maimed or wounded since the beginning of the conflict in Iraq.

War Is Personal. Mona Parsons, 52, is nearly overcome with worry about her son, Jeremy Hagy, who is scheduled to return to his unit in Iraq the next morning. By the end of 2009, over 4,300 men and women from US military forces had been killed and some 30,000 maimed or wounded since the beginning of the conflict in Iraq. The incidence of stress-related illness and military suicides was increasing.

War Is Personal. Jeremy Hagy kisses his sleeping children goodbye, in Mount Vernon, Ohio, before returning for duty in Iraq. By the end of 2009, over 4,300 men and women from US military forces had been killed and some 30,000 maimed or wounded since the beginning of the conflict in Iraq. The incidence of stress-related illness and military suicides was increasing.

War Is Personal. Nelida Bagley helps her son Jose Pequeño from his bed at the West Roxbury Veterans Medical Center in Massachusetts. He lost 40 percent of his brain when a grenade exploded in his vehicle while on patrol in Ramadi, in central Iraq. By the end of 2009, over 4,300 men and women from US military forces had been killed and some 30,000 maimed or wounded since the beginning of the conflict in Iraq.

War Is Personal. Former US Army medic Michael Harmon, who shares a small apartment in Brooklyn with his mother, grandmother and stepfather, has suffered from severe anxiety attacks since returning from Iraq. By the end of 2009, over 4,300 men and women from US military forces had been killed and some 30,000 maimed or wounded since the beginning of the conflict in Iraq. The incidence of stress-related illness and military suicides was increasing.

War Is Personal. Boys play near Section 60 of Arlington National Cemetery, the area designated for those in the military who have lost their lives in Iraq and Afghanistan. By the end of 2009, over 4,300 men and women from US military forces had been killed and some 30,000 maimed or wounded since the beginning of the conflict in Iraq. The incidence of stress-related illness and military suicides was increasing.

Nature,3rd prize