Photojournalist Ashley Gilbertson speaks to Jefferson Society
Award-winning photojournalist Ashley Gilbertson showed images from his coverage of the Iraq War and described the war’s toll on the homefront to a meeting of the Jefferson Literary and Debating Society on October 10, 2008. This presentation was jointly sponsored by the Jefferson Society and the Virginia Quarterly Review to mark the publication of his article, “The Life and Lonely Death of Noah Pierce,” in the Fall 2008 issue of VQR.
Following his talk, Gilbertson took questions from the audience:
0:32:00 How did you find Noah’s story?
0:37:00 In covering the war, did you encounter any resistance from the military or from soldiers’ families?
0:42:00 Have you met any soldiers who have gotten effective treatment for post-traumatic stress disorder?
0:46:00 What was your relationship with the soldiers who were protecting you while you were on assignment?
0:51:00 To what extent do you think the military is sweeping PTSD under the rug?
0:53:00 How do the Iraqis feel about the war?
0:57:00 How did your photography change as a result of your change of opinion about the war?
1:00:00 What can we learn from the Coalition Forces?
1:03:00 What problems do we face in transitioning veterans back into society?
1:06:00 Would the leadership of this country benefit if our leaders had experience in war?
1:08:30 Who did you work with in Iraq? How are soldiers of different ranks handling PTSD?