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Embedded With Medical Unit, Photographer Brings Images Of Afghan War

By Dick Gordon

Published September 11, 2013 at 2:48 PM EDT

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Louie Palu

http://mp3/www.thestory.org/sites/default/files/public/audio/story/2013_09_11_night_raid.mp3

For more than 10 years, photographer Louie Palu documented the wars of Iraq and Afghanistan, embedding with U.S. Marines as they sweep for mines or engage with enemy fighters. Then, after a series of close calls with improvised explosive devises, he was asked to embed with a medical evacution helicopter.

In this conversation with host Dick Gordon, Palu talks about "Night Raid," one photo from Kandahar, Afghanistan. Palu’s medical helicopter was responding to pick up wounded soldiers when an IED exploded underneath it. Palu was jostled around, and almost fell out of the machine, but the pilot was able to right the helicopter, and pick-up the wounded. The photo Palu took of a wounded Afghan soldier is a finalist in the Outwin Boochever Portrait Competition.

Photo Gallery: Images from Louie Palu's conversation with host Dick Gordon.

Also in this show: Danny Lewin was on the first plane to hit the World Trade Center in 2001. He’s often called the "first victim" of those attacks. What many people don’t know is that Lewin developed the web technology that allowed millions of people to quickly access the same websites at the same time, as many did on September 11.