War Is Personal

Eugene Richards

Reportage by Getty Images

WEST ROXBURY, MASSACHUSETTS, 2008. When the doctors first called to tell Nelida about her son, all they could say was, “What a terrible waste; he’s going to die.” But they somehow stabilized him. He was in a coma, on a breathing machine, then he opened his eyes. From the military hospital in Bethesda, he was transported to Walter Reed, to the VA in Tampa, then back again, to so many hospitals that Nelida lost count. Each week in the West Roxbury VA, there are physical therapy sessions. “Start working,” Nelida calls to him. “Look at me. Talk to me. You can do it.”

Eugene Richards, "War Is Personal," in POYi Archive, Item #44708, http://archive.poy.org/items/show/44708 (accessed May 20, 2024).