It Ain't Maybelline
We're disconnected from war because we just read workaday news reports of it; we don't see it down to the stuff under the fingernails.
Here are a couple more photos from my talented painter friend Roman Genn (aka "the Mad Russian), who went to Afghanistan for the LA Times and National Review.
The above shot is from the January 17 bombing in Kabul. Roman writes, "I was not supposed to film there. ...Marines didn't give a damn where I was filming or not."
What is that red stuff, you ask? "Natural human juice," Roman says. "Commonly known as blood."
This below, says Roman, is "Marines in the CH-53E helicopter flying into Kabul, firing a fifty cal."
Semper Fi
lujlp at April 20, 2009 5:55 AM
Dont know why you would, but if you want to piss off a marine ask them why their colors are red and yellow
lujlp at April 20, 2009 5:57 AM
I tend to read Michael Yon for on the ground coverage... but it looks like Roman has some good stuff as well. Foreign wars, more than any other news is something where I want to read many, many sources before forming any opinion. If you have never been to a place, have never smelled it's smells, never seen it's tears... it's hard to tell who is giving you facts.
SwissArmyD at April 20, 2009 9:50 AM
You could also ask a Marine what the 13-button flap on the old Navy/Coast Guard dress blues was called. The young ones likely won't know but the old-timers might knock you down.
As a Coast Guardsman, a "Coastie", I respected the Marines. The only Medal of Honor earned by a Coast Guardsman was for saving the lives of Marines.
I'll add Roman to the likes of Michael Yon for the feel of war.
Ariel at April 20, 2009 10:41 AM
Recently, in Thailand, I read a column by an expat who had been there 40 years. "Four decades here, and I still know nothing about Thailand," he wrote. "The more you know, the less you know."
Ditto for journalists in Iraq (or government officials).
Get out yesterday, and hope for the best.
i-hole at April 20, 2009 2:33 PM
Why oh why do our liberal "friends" have to hate on the troops so?
Glad you post the nice things.
Suki at April 20, 2009 7:31 PM
These are great photos! He is such a talented guy, and a great storyteller, as well. At a friend's wake, he told my son--in front of me--to have a good time as a camp counselor in Russia. "Camp--good place for getting laid.." I'll bet the Marines dug him.
KateC at April 21, 2009 7:29 AM
Suki wrote "Why oh why do our liberal "friends" have to hate on the troops so?"
Let me guess -- you're another non-veteran?
Gog_Magog_Carpet_Reclaimers at April 22, 2009 9:15 AM
This is my rifle. There are many like it, but this one is mine. My rifle is my best friend. It is my life. I must master it as I master my life. My rifle, without me, is useless. Without my rifle, I am useless. I must fire my rifle true. I must shoot straighter than any enemy who is trying to kill me. I must shoot him before he shoots me. I will....
My rifle and myself know that what counts in this war is not the rounds we fire, the noise of our burst, nor the smoke we make. We know that it is the hits that count. We will hit...
My rifle is human, even as I, because it is my life. Thus, I will learn it as a brother. I will learn its weakness, its strength, its parts, its accessories, its sights and its barrel. I will keep my rifle clean and ready, even as I am clean and ready. We will become part of each other. We will...
Before God I swear this creed. My rifle and myself are the defenders of my country. We are the masters of our enemy. We are the saviors of my life. So be it, until victory is America's and there is no enemy, but Peace.
lujlp at April 22, 2009 4:07 PM
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