Tag Archives: Tim Hetherington

Newseum memorializes Fallen Journalists

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I’m very sorry that I couldn’t be in DC today, but I was working on a new film. My boss Laura and I think of TIm often, and I think he would have wanted us to continue working on a new film that upholds the integrity of veterans, and also will change the way people think of them. 

But today, Tim Hetherington, Chris Hondros and 68 other journalists were remembered by adding their names to a new memorial panel at the Newseum in Washington DC.  68 of the journalists were killed in 2011. Another two were killed in previous years. Families and friends flew thousands of miles to honor the journalists and honor their work and memory. Tim Hetherington and Chris Hondros’ families donated personal items from the two, who were both killed in Libya on April 20, 2011.

Alejandro Junco, president and chief executive officer of Grupo Reforma was the speaker. He said:

“For 40 years, I have worked alongside journalists working to burn away the fog of anonymity,” Junco said, “working to help eliminate those bad influences on people’s lives — the bad incentives, the bad systems, the bad practices.”

Junco also reminded guests of the constant dangers journalists face each day.

“This year is less than five months old and already, across the world, 18 journalists have been killed; 179 have been imprisoned,” he said.

The work of WarRetreat, started in honor of Tim, continues not only in his memory, but for every person who gave their life not only getting the story, but doing so to broaden our perspective, and deepen our understanding of the world.  To them, we are grateful for their work, and also for the platform we have used to help so many.

One year later… All this because of Tim

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Readers of this blog, and followers of us on WarRetreat on Facebook might not realize that it was started as a way to honor my friend, Tim Hetherington.

It’s been a year since he was killed while covering the war in Libya. I was lucky because so many people reached out to one another to give comfort to those of us who knew him. 
I’ve written a piece over at The Kitchen Dispatch, detailing what we’ve done in the year since Tim has been gone. We’ve pushed our own boundaries, met new people, made discoveries and have helped people we don’t even know.  Just so you know: WarRetreat is now a partner with all those organizations you see on the sidebar. Our reach goes pretty far these days.

Tim, I miss you. I always will. You’ll always be a part of what so many of us do. Here’s a photo of the current RISC training put together by Mike Kamber and Sebastian Junger, as well as Tim’s parents Judith and Alistair. Next year, I hope the war photographers’ retreat will be part of it too. 

Sunday Life Advice: Tim Hetherington’s Volley

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Click to be taken to Amazon.

Last year, Tim volleyed with a parent from Battle Company, which was the subject of the book, as well as the film Restrepo for over a week. The parent was upset over the inclusion of the naked pin ups of women in Tim’s upcoming book Infidel. He answered each email patiently, while maintaining his position that while she was upset, his book dealt with the realities of the conditions the men lived in and the war they fought.

She escalated, despite his best efforts. Then she took her case to the popular Restrepo Facebook page, asking for a boycott of the book. Perhaps she was upset because as a mother, she didn’t like to think of the men up in that hooch on the side of a mountain surrounded by naked pin ups during combat. Or at least have such public evidence of it. That’s when I picked up the gauntlet. Later, Tim thanked me for “the sanity, really.”

What I never told him was that it was easy. I’d had months of working with him. Throughout our work on the release of the film, I watched as Tim handled questions. He  stayed firm in his convictions, listened to others with a dissenting point of view, and tried to learn from them even though he might not agree with them. Tim parsed the language, choosing his words carefully. He resisted the urge to use comparisons that would shortchange a deeper conversation.  His ability to volley intellectually was natural, and athletic.I’d like to think there’s room for that here on WarRetreat. For Tim, to whom WarRetreat is dedicated.

Watch the video here:  Tim Hetherington on Infidel

For Tim Hetherington: Thoughts From A Soldier On His Birthday

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December 5 is Tim Hetherington’s Birthday. WarRetreat was started in his honor, following his untimely death this year in Libya. Tim will always be remembered for is his many embeds with the 2/503, Battle Company of the 173rd Airborne in the Korengal Valley, Afghanistan. The relationships he formed with the men were the basis of the film Restrepo, Tim’s book Infidel, and Sebastian Junger’s book WAR. To mark Tim’s birthday, WarRetreat is pleased to have Eric Ortegren from Battle Company, share his thoughts.

By Eric Ortegren

We became hardened men in the Korengal. Most interaction with media was disliked and carried the weight of bad luck. This was really brought home to me when Al Jazeera English came to my remote Fire Base Vegas for a tour. While our Platoon Sergeant SFC Blaskowski was showing the reporter around, a single round rang out. We ran to our posts and lit up the whole forest, but no more shots came at us. After a brief lull we heard the shout for medic. I grabbed a radio and ran down, only to see SFC Ski sucking for air. It was one of the worst days of my life to work so hard to keep him alive, and watch as life left his eyes before the medevac bird even landed. Needless to say reporters had a stigma.

Sebastian and Tim, Korengal Valley, Afghanistan

    I met Sebastian and Tim while refitting at the KOP and was surprised to learn that I instantly liked them. It helped that I planned at that time to be a commercial fisherman when I got out and Sebastian had written the best fishing story (The Perfect Storm) since The Old Man And The Sea, which I had read multiple times.

These men were a genuine shock because they actually wanted to know us. They cared about us. Over a short time they proved to not get anyone killed, or cower and put us at risk. A paradigm shift occurred that I had never heard of in American military circles. We accepted them as our own. 

We protected them just like the man to our left and right, which is a very sacred brotherhood that few are given the privilege to enter. I dare say: We grew to love them, and they grew to love us. It was because they took a new approach and wanted to report on us not the war. 

Tim and Sebastian made us human in a war where the American public had become detached. They forced America to see that the men on the front lines who lived in fear and anticipation (every waking moment) and are now plagued by it in our nightmares –were the same kids that used to play football at the big homecoming games. The same guys who worked at the Subway down the street. (Sal Giunta)  We weren’t superhuman assassins intent on killing, and we earned a Medal of Honor for one of the most laid back non overbearing men I have ever met. We were normal men doing extraordinary things all with the hope to bring your man to the left and right home alive. 

Sebastian and Tim showed it in such an eloquent way in their film Restrepo that a country that was numb to our plight gained their long-lost empathy. For that we are forever indebted to them. For that Tim will be among the pantheon of heroes. His legend will go on inspiring a whole new generation of photojournalists to take it as far as they can.

Eric with the Troops First Foundation

I was medically retired after leaving the Korengal about nine months in. The transition back to civilian life was the most difficult time in my life. The lack of camaraderie is what made it so hard. My marriage suffered, my family suffered, my identity suffered. I came back a shattered remnant of the man I was before. Making peace with who I have become was amazingly difficult. But we are Sky Soldiers, and we drive on and continue the mission.

I am finishing up with my first semester towards a Masters in Clinical Social Work hoping to work on veteran reintegration as there is a great need. My desire is to continue the professional development of soldiers. I participate with many wounded warrior functions and was recently given the amazing opportunity to fly in the wounded warrior project balloon at the Albuquerque Balloon Fiesta.  I even recently reignited a passion with fly fishing going on a Troops First Foundation fly fishing retreat. I went with my best friend, who lost his legs in the Korengal in our one IED attack.  
Life is still a constant struggle and more work than ever, but now I am proud of who I am and what I did. I won’t ever let my disabilities take that away from me. You know, we thought about God a lot over there, and what his judgement would be to us back here, but it is what you make it. I read a great quote the other day:
“There is but one god and he is death…
all we say to him is not today”

Eric Ortegren fly fishing with Troops First Foundation, New Mexico

Battle Company (and Everyone Else) Don’t forget: We love you.

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Just a fond memory of the event. Tim with Marc Bryan Solowski, Tad Donaho, Jr, taken by Santana Rueda. 2008, Kunar.

As yoga-doers, we are real pains in the ass. We’re unrelenting in our focus on the aftermath of war. But still, we always stay present.

Everyday, we can try to listen to something heart- wrenchingly beautiful. Perhaps catch our breath by reading a story so entertaining we laugh out loud. Take a walk and notice the leaves on the trees.

Soon,  Mike Kamber and his friends at the Bronx Documentary Center will open its inaugural show, featuring Tim’s work. I think Marc and maybe even a few others will be there. We miss him so much. But by having shows, throwing retreats, making films and planning workshops, we carry on the legacy of his life.

I know we hit the nail on the head pretty hard. Some in the yoga community might even be feeling bruised.  But you see, the reason is as simple as this old Bob Dylan song, brought to life by Adele.

The Scarves, Plus A Mother’s Letter

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Dave Tobin & Paul Fanning

Because of Hurricane Irene, most of the participants went home on Saturday morning, catching the last bus back to NYC at 11 AM.  All of the mass transit was going to be shut down in New York until at Tuesday,  so they had no choice but to leave prior to the big surprise we had planned for them. While our corporate sponsors prAna, Jade, Kulae and China Gel had wowed over our participants with generosity and gifts, what they hadn’t received were the hand-knit scarves made by a team of knitters from across the U.S.

However, we were able to present scarves to Dave Tobin of the Syracuse Post-Standard Newspaper, and LTC (ret) Paul Fanning, who was the head of the NY Army National Guard Public Affairs for many years. Paul placed many reporters as embeds in both Iraq and Afghanistan over the course of his career. Both had a six and three hour drive ahead of them, and we were grateful they stayed for another round of yoga, plus a massage.

Two Daves and a Paul

The next day, Jillian and Dave packed the rest of the scarves along with an anthology of

poetry prepared by Pamela Hart, the mother of an Army Ranger. They were sent with personal messages from the knitters. This includes a packet of letters, one of them is reproduced here, from Sgt. Misha Pemble Belkin’s mother Candy.  Like myself, both Misha and Candice were personal friends of Tim’s.

Dear Friend,

I wanted to add a note to the scarf I am sending to you so you would know how grateful I am to be a part of this project to honor my friend Tim Hetherington.

My son is Sgt. Misha Pemble-Belkin now deployed for the second time to Afghanistan. Tim met my son o his first deployment at OP Retrepo, while filming with Sebastian Junger. He would often tell me on the short phone calls home about this British guy that was out there taking pictures of them, and how he would make fun of his accent and his drinking tea.

On one of his calls home, he told me that Tim had broken his ankle and they had to get him off the mountain to a spot where a helicopter could pick him up. (Just a side bar to this story, my son had fallen off a cliff on a night patrol, they thought he was dead, so they sent for a medic to go down and check before they brought in a chopper. When they got down to the bottom, he was standing up, cut up, and with  concussion. His sniper rifle had been bent in half. He told me most of the guys had taken falls off those steep slopes).

Anyway, here is Tim –broken ankle, on morphine, sliding down the mountain on his butt and he rips a hole in his pants, slides into a bush and nearly pokes his eye out on a branch. Misha being the sensitive guy he is walks past Tim, pats him on the shoulder and says, “Hey, now you look like the rest of us!”

I finally met Tim while I was in NY and we traded stories about that day and many others. We share a lot of laughs: he had a fantastic laugh. He became part of our family, had shared so many experiences with our son through those horrible 15 months.

One of the first images that I had of my son was the picture Tim took, and I took it and hung it up on in my workshop so he was with me everyday. It gave me the strength to face those months and to stay strong for my son. I can’t express in words what a gift Tim gave to his mother.

Tim and Sebastian had planned on following Mish back to Afghanistan, that of course did not happen. I have been struggling with what I could do to let strangers know what a wonderful talented human being he was, so when this project came up I was all over it.

I wanted to let you know much much I appreciate the work you have done and may continue to do so. You help shed light and truth on stories where others may not have the courage to. Thank you, thank you, thank you.

Feel better, rested, and stay warm.

All my respect, Candy Pemble-Belkin

Welcome Friends: August is not so far away

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John Davis, Jason Mace, David Kelso and Tim Hetherington

Idil Ibrahim, the love of Tim’s life, told me over breakfast: “Tim thought that strangers were friends yet to be met.”  And it’s true. Described as “The Prince” amongst NY journalists, Tim was one of the easiest persons to talk to. Or as a soldier wrote to me: “I used to try to talk to him every chance I had in the Korengal. We’d sit outside at night, and I’d listen to all of his stories.”

Tim and Idil with Sgt. Aron Hijar, Sgt. Misha Pemble Belkin, Daniela and Sebastian Junger at the Oscars.

In other words, people didn’t remain strangers for very long. The image  in the header for this blog is Tim with Sgt Marc Solowski, Sgt Tad Donoho in the Korengal Valley, Afghanistan, 2008. It was taken by Sgt. Santana Rueda.  They embraced him as a brother, and he hugged right back. The military support community embraced Tim as a son as well. (If you want to know, Solowski is getting ready to go back to college, Donoho and Rueda are still in the U.S. Army).

On this blog you’ll find information about the upcoming War Photographers’ Retreat. Click through the menu items at the top.  We also have a swell Facebook page, we’ll be updating daily. If you’re with the media and want to contact us, please go to the top and click “Contact.” Thanks for stopping by. We’ve only just begun.