Finbarr O’Reilly, Joseph Heller, Elton John and Afghanistan.

“They said he had left his weapon in the rain, which was not the case. I think they may have been embarrassed that they had failed to provide any shelter for their Marines. A few days later, I got a request from a Marine newsletter in the U.S. asking to use the image for recruiting purposes because it looked ‘Hardcore.’ It was a Joseph Heller kind of situation.”

See the picture that Finbarr’s talking about here, part of a fascinating set which gets stronger and stronger. As ever it’s a pleasure reading Finbarr’s captions and words, they tell us so much, adding a great deal to each image. Somehow even Elton John gets a mention in a rather interesting way…the first time I think I’ve read Elton John and Helmand Province in the same paragraph.