Under The Wings of Artemis

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In When I First Arrived in Baghdad, Fred Hagstrom combines compelling images and commentary by photo journalist Stan Honda. This powerful and personal account offers a humane counterbalance to war images of the past and the possibly flawed memory of those conflicts, in which the U.S. was always perceived as a virtuous participant and the cause was always noble.

In one image an American soldier handcuffs an Iraqi man while nearby Iraqi women have been isolated on a bench. The photograph is overlaid with text describing the photographer’s concern that the Iraqis might feel embarrassed. In another, a couple of soldiers are shown chatting. The text reads, “Many of the lower ranks didn’t believe in the war, didn’t think there were weapons of mass destruction and believed that the U.S. was basically fighting for the oil.”

When I First Arrived in Baghdad
Fred Hagstrom

Battles have been depicted in art and literature since the earliest civilizations, and the way each culture remembers – or reshapes its collective memory – is often derived from these images and reports. Hagstrom’s profound chronicle delivers a provocative message and asks some challenging questions:

Are we recording a history that is true or one that serves us to our own advantage? What is the story of the Iraqi war that will remain?

When I First Arrived in Baghdad
Fred Hagstrom