Mary McHugh visited the grave of her fiance, Sgt. James F. Regan, who was killed in Iraq in February. He is buried in the new Section 60 at Arlington National Cemetery for those killed in Iraq and Afghanistan. (photo and caption from The New York Times; May 28, 2007; photo by John More, Getty Images)
I was fortunate enough to have picked up a NYT that day, and this photo instantly became one of the saddest things I've ever seen. It is tragically beautiful to me, and the print of it has been at eye level on my fridge ever since. The photo won first place for feature photos in the 2007 Atlanta Photojournalism Seminar Contest. You can read the photographer's story behind the photo here (it's fantastic). Sgt. Regan's family has since established the Lead the Way Fund for fallen U.S. Army Rangers.
Please take a moment this Memorial Day weekend to reflect on its meaning and purpose. Once again, I include in my blog Radiohead's "Like Spinning Plates," from their 2001 album, Amnesiac (and there's an awesome version on their 2001 I Might Be Wrong: Live Recordings album). It's a song about war, the current one at that. Lyrics below followed by the video. Again, tragically beautiful.
***While you make pretty speeches
I'm being cut to shreds
You feed me to the lions
A delicate balance
And this just feels like spinning plates
I'm living in cloud cookoo land
And this just feels like spinning plates
Our bodies floating down the muddy river ***
1 comment:
cut to shreads...
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