The Lives of American Soldiers, Before and After War

When Platon first arrived at The New Yorker as a staff photographer, in 2008, the magazine was redoubling its editorial attention to the war in Iraq. The nation at the time was in the final stages of selecting Presidential candidates, and the economic downturn was the number-one concern for most voters. But, increasingly, Americans were objecting to the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. Soldiers were returning home wounded and psychologically damaged. Brave photojournalists, embedded with military units, were dispatching strong images showing the war’s devastation. For Platon’s first photo-essay assignment, or Portfolio, we decided to focus on members of the military before and after their tours of duty. We would document their training and preparation, and then visit them again when they returned from the war, to see how they—and their loved ones—were faring.