James Blake Miller

'This is the photo that made Marine Lance Cpl. James Blake Miller -- the "Marlboro Marine" --famous. This photo also changed my life. I’m Luis Sinco, a Los Angeles Times staff photographer, and I took it while embedded with his Marine unit in Fallouja. We had spent the previous night in a traffic circle, pinned down by enemy fire, and just before I snapped this photo, a tank had blasted an insurgent position next door to ours. Many people looked at the photo and saw a heroic figure; I saw, in his eyes, a man at the point of breaking. It was how I felt, too.
(Luis Sinco / LAT)
November 9, 2004

War Kills. War Sucks. Leest u dit verhaal. Hoe liegende politici in samenwerking met de commerciele massamedia van een gewone jongen een wrak maakten.

Despite concerns of overstepping, Times photographer Luis Sinco feels compelled to help the Iraq vet he made famous.
By Luis Sinco : Times Staff Photographer November 12, 2007

James Blake Miller was in a world of pain, and I figured I should be by his side.A veterans' treatment program in West Haven, Conn. -- arguably the best in the nation -- offered hope. Moe Armstrong, a pioneer in vet-to-vet counseling, had heard of the Marlboro Marine's troubles and sent him feelers about coming for a visit. Despite my reservations about getting too involved, I had flown from Los Angeles to Kentucky to help Miller grab this lifeline. I coaxed him into my rental car and we headed north.
questioned myself. Was this the right thing to do? For Miller, yes. But for me? What awaited us at the end of this journey? I caught Miller's eyes reflected in the rearview mirror, droopy and lifeless. He hadn't slept well, and a long road led from his home in the Appalachian coal country to New England.I had taken a photo of Miller for the Los Angeles Times during the battle of Fallouja in November 2004. He was leaning against a wall, a cigarette dangling from his lips. To my surprise, the image became iconic, capturing a sense of the front line in a young Marine's face. It appeared in dozens of newspapers and on TV broadcasts, giving Miller a moment of fame.Back home, he had struggled to put Iraq behind him. He was medically discharged from the Marines, suffering from post- traumatic stress disorder. He suffered flashbacks, drank heavily and retreated into a shell.We had stayed in touch, casually at first. Then something deeper had developed between us. I was one of the few people who could reach him, who understood what he had been through.'

Lees verder:
http://www.latimes.com/news/nationworld/nation/marlboromarine/la-na-marlboro12nov12,1,5613373.story?coll=la-news-marlboromarine&ctrack=1&cset=true En zie ook deze video: http://www.latimes.com/news/nationworld/nation/marlboromarine/