“Come and See”. True Reality of War Photos by Peter Van Agtmael

Peter van Agtmael (b. 1981) graduated from Yale University in 2003 with a degree in History. Following graduation, he spent a year in China on the Charles P. Howland fellowship photographing the effects of the Three Gorges Dam. He became a freelance photographer at the end of 2004. Since the beginning of 2006, he has documented the consequences of America’s Wars, at home and abroad. A monograph of the work, “2nd Tour Hope I Don’t Die” was published in 2009. In 2008, he helped organize the exhibition and book Battlespace, a retrospective of unseen work from 22 photographers covering Iraq and Afghanistan. He is represented by Magnum Photos

Peter Van Agtmael began his first tour documenting the army at 24, the same age as many of the soldiers. A friend of this young Marine at FOB Delhi asked Van Agtmael if he wanted to see a picture that he’d drawn. It was of an angry pig with a giant pen*s dressed as a Marine, holding a machine gun. (Photo and caption by Van Agtmael/Harrison Jacobs/Magnum Photos)
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