A View of the World, From Soldiers' Eyes

Veterans Day may have come and gone, but it's still Veterans Week, so we should expect to see more military messages; most images of war will arrive via the mainstream media and official military sources.

But at a site called UnderMars, soldiers anonymously submit their own photos. That means we get to see their view of the world – tanks and guns, yes, but also desert landscapes, schools of fish in the sea, sunsets, and blooming flowers.

 

Most of the photos on the site were taken in Iraq in 2003 and 2004. For us at home, it’s an honest, unpolished look at soldiers’ daily lives. UnderMars doesn’t take a political stand, and neither does it glamorize nor demonize soldiers’ jobs. It’s just meant to provide a glimpse through their eyes.  

Warning: There are very graphic, bloody pictures, but they’re only in the section labeled “Gore.” Don’t click on that section if you don’t want to see it. 

-- Année Tousseau / photo courtesy Undermars.com