Photographer Peter van Agtmael takes viewers through the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan in his new book, 2nd Tour, Hope I Don’t Die. Here, a memorial service for soldier Kevin Jessen, who was killed by an IED in Anbar province, Iraq, in 2006. van Agtmael, 28, chronicled the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan between 2006 and 2008. "My photographs are primarily about contradictions; the simultaneous and infinite coexistence of beauty mingling with destruction, of love with hatred," he says. "The endless capacity for contradiction has defined humanity's existence, and is forced into stark relief in war."
Peter van Agtmael
Afghanistan, 2008. While many of the images in van Agtmael’s book document conflict, the lives of the individuals he encountered and got to know, often soldiers close to his own age, are an important part of the book. After his experiences in Iraq and Afghanistan, van Agtmael suffered from Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD). “Everyone who sees enough trauma gets PTSD," he says. "It takes different forms for different people, but I certainly have it. For me, in me, it has manifested itself fairly traditionally, in bouts of depression, irrational anger, and damaged relationships. I've been able to work through most of my problems on my own. The lucky thing about being a photographer is that you usually have the photographic evidence of your worst memories. It took me a long time to look at some of my pictures, especially of the Baghdad ER, but I'm making peace with my experiences.” van Agtmael recommends the charity Canines for Combat Vets, which provides service dogs to wounded veterans.
Peter van Agtmael
VPB California, a small U.S. outpost in the Pech Valley of the Kunar province of Afghanistan in 2007.
Peter van Agtmael
Iraqi soldiers pass a wall pockmarked with bullets following a deadly raid in the northwest city of Mosul, Iraq, in 2006.
Peter van Agtmael
A helicopter prepares to land near soldiers on a makeshift helipad built into the side of the mountain at the Aranas outpost in the Nuristan province of Afghanistan in 2007.
Peter van Agtmael
Flight medic Michael Julio holds the hand of a fatally wounded American soldier in the air over Nuristan as he is taken to the nearest hospital, 2007. Nuristan is a northeastern region of Afghanistan in the Hindu Kush valleys.
Peter van Agtmael
Captain Kearns stands alone in the ER of a U.S. Military Hospital in Baghdad following the death of a soldier, 2006.
Peter van Agtmael
A rare moment of peace: A U.S. soldier watches a movie on his laptop in Kunar, 2007.
Peter van Agtmael
A U.S. soldier stands on guard at dawn in the wake of a midnight raid on a small village in Afghanistan, 2007.
Peter van Agtmael
An Iraqi woman named Fahima poses for pictures with her sunglasses-clad nephews before her wedding to an Iraqi man named Dost Khairy Mohammed, Mazar-e-Sharif, Afghanistan, 2008. Mazar-e-Sharif, which means “Noble Shrine,” is the fourth largest city in Afghanistan. Its name is a reference to the Shrine of Hazrat Ali (“Blue Mosque”), in the center of the city, which some Muslims believe is the site of the tomb of Ali ibn Abi Talib, a cousin of the Prophet Muhammad.
Peter van Agtmael
Bathroom graffiti, Baghdad, 2006.
Peter van Agtmael
Wounded U.S. veteran Sgt. Raymond Hubbard plays with Star Wars light sabers with his sons Brady and Riley in Wisconsin, 2007. Sgt. Hubbard lost his leg in a rocket attack in Baghdad on the Fourth of July in 2006. Agtmael documented his life following his injury.
Peter van Agtmael
See more of Peter van Agtmael's images in his new monograph from photolucida, 2nd Tour Hope I Don't Die..
