Dramatic Front Page Pictures War Dead From Fort Lewis
OLYMPIA, WA (October 11, 2007) - This morning the front page of the newspaper where National Press Photographers Association president Tony Overman is a staff photojournalist was a dramatic departure from the publication's traditional design. Today the entire front page of The Olympian was made up of 48 photographs of local soldiers who have died to date in Iraq. Under the banner headline "In Memoriam," the newspaper presented the soldiers from the 3rd Brigade, 2nd Infantry Division who "made the ultimate sacrifice in 2006-2007."
The unit is the same Stryker brigade from Fort Lewis, WA, that Overman was embedded with in Iraq. "I've covered the memorial services for at least half of those guys, maybe more, and I guess I see in their faces what other people see when you go to a memorial, or to a remembrance wall," Overman said. "In each of the pictures you see the same emotion that you feel for the person you knew."
"None of them are people that I dealt with personally, but they're the ones the soldiers are wearing memorial bracelets for. I thought it was a really powerful front page, but maybe it was that powerful for me because I was closer to it."
Others who weren't embedded, who weren't there in Iraq, see the power of the images too. Olympian executive editor Vickie Kilgore wrote a message to the newspaper's readers today, on a day that coincided with the paper's coverage of the unveiling of a memorial at Fort Lewis dedicated to the Stryker dead who did not come home from Iraq with the unit at the end of their second deployment in the war. "The Olympian chose to dedicate today's front page as a small but dramatic way to honor their service," Kilgore wrote. "It is not intended as an editorial statement on the war. Rather, it is the biggest of local stories. Nonetheless, we recognize that, whether you support or oppose our country's military presence in Iraq, the front page display will generate strong feelings."
"We felt it was important to show our readers the faces of those who did not return," she wrote. "We assembled this page with careful deliberation. Our intent is to be respectful but knowing, without doubt, that this lineup of faces conveys the effect of the war in a way words cannot. We hope that you will look at the page, read the profiles of these men and reflect on their sacrifice."
Today Overman reflected on the time he spent in Iraq with this unit and its soldiers. "Each one of those soldiers from Fort Lewis meant something to me. I get really frustrated to hear them say one line on the news, 'A soldier was killed today in Iraq,' and that's it. In this country when an off-duty police officer dies, it's a state-wide story. Soldiers are dying every day and in the news it's becoming too routine. This front page, these are just our local people, and just from the second 15-month deployment."
Today's front page also steers readers to an Olympian special online report, "Coming Home."
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