Warriors for Peace Project

We as a nation and a people are disconnected from the reality, intimacy, and emotions of war and especially from the soldiers who fight in them. We see the wars as “over there”, being fought between the “troops” and the “insurgents”, we see the dead and wounded as digits in a body count, and those who resist as defectors or protestors. In our minds, soldiers become instruments that fight for our freedoms and protections, devoid of emotions or morals that might conflict with the mission, never mind first and last names. Simply put we forget their humanity. And in doing so, we make the justifications for war and occupation that much easier to accept.
Through the use of intimate portraits and in depth audio interviews, this project looks deeply at the emotions and feelings behind a growing number of veterans of the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan who have decided to oppose a war they were once a part of. Was it anger at a corrupt system, compassion for those whose country and people they found themselves destroying, a sense of betrayal from the government they were fighting for, or sadness over the level of death and destruction they were a part of? While I aim to document their stories, I have found there is usually one underlying emotion that drives their transformation and it is the emotions that are highlighted in this project as a means for providing a space for the viewers to relate to the veterans on a very personal level. In creating that space and reintroducing the public to the humanity and emotion of the soldier, this project challenges the ease with which we accept war.
This project was recently accepted by the Blue Earth Alliance and has been shown in group and solo shows around the country. It is available for licensing, gallery shows and installations throughout the world.
- Jon Orlando- photographer/activist
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We as a nation and a people are disconnected from the reality, intimacy, and emotions of war and especially from the soldiers who fight in them. We see the wars as “over there”, being fought between the “troops” and the “insurgents”, we see the dead and wounded as digits in a body count, and those who resist as defectors or protestors. In our minds, soldiers become instruments that fight for our freedoms and protections, devoid of emotions or morals that might conflict with the mission,... (read more)