14 Soldiers Had Their Pictures Taken Before, During, And After War. The Results Are Disturbing!
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The ravages of war can be seen everywhere, both while it’s raging and long after the conflict has passed. The destruction and harm that’s inflicted on property, buildings, the landscape, families, people’s lives, and so much more ends up devastating and destroying vast areas and cities.
It’s a fact that the effects of war change people, how could it not? Bearing witness to shocking acts of brutality and seeing pain and suffering being inflicted, day after day until you’re numb to it, would profoundly impact a person. That’s part of why a significant amount of our nations Veterans end up suffering from Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) and other types of traumatic brain injuries.
The long term mental, emotional, and spiritual repercussions of war are hard to describe and even harder to ascertain or begin to fully understand. Perhaps that is why these photographs of soldiers taken before, during, and after tours of duty in Afghanistan are so powerful.
The men’s faces stare back starkly at the viewer and convey so much feeling and emotion, yet at the same time there is something missing and haunting about all of them. The physical changes across the board are surprising and revealing all at once. The men turn from normal and carefree looking to stressed, gaunt, hardened soldiers.
However, it’s the eyes that show the most emotion and pain, and they reveal the true costs that war has on people. The pictures were captured by British photojournalist Lalage Snow while she was based in Afghanistan back in 2010. She was on assignment and had followed the lives and experiences of a group of soldiers from the 1st Battalion, The Royal Regiment of Scotland.
Snow spent a period of seven months documenting the soldiers who had been deployed to Afghanistan on a mission to help train the new Afghan Army. The first picture she took of each man was done before they were sent abroad and while they were still in the UK.
The second photo was taken after the men had spent 3 months in Afghanistan on the battlefield, and the third final photograph was taken just three days after they had returned home. The series of portraits, along with interviews of the men, comprise Snow’s “We Are The Not Dead” Project.
Her goal for the work was to not only honor the soldier’s bravery, but to also shed light on the mental and emotional wounds that war leaves behind on those who serve their countries.
Not every injury is physical and more needs to be done all around to help veterans returning from combat.
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This Baby Was Stolen From His Mother. Now Watch His Response When He’s Rescued!
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Orangutans seem to be coming up a lot lately in social media. Probably because they are unbelievably adorable, but also because they are in need of help often due to their impending extinction. Organizations in Borneo and Sumatra are working hard to care for and protect the rapidly dwindling population of orangutans in Indonesia.
These rehab centers are reaching out to all over the world for support in their efforts to keep the apes alive and thriving. The decline in the species is due completely to human activities. Deforestation due to palm oil harvesting has imposed on the health of orangutans by destroying their habitat.
The apes are also hunted for profitable re-sale and the novelty of consumption. Because orangutans are very bonded to their mothers as babies, their capture is typically achieved by the murder of the protective mother, hence removing two individuals from the population at a time.
The baby orangutan in this video, named Rickina, is being nurtured by the IAR Ketapang Orangutan Rescue Center in Borneo. Rickina was confiscated from a man who claimed her mother was so startled by his presence in the rain forest that she ran away from her baby. Lies. He picked up the baby and in doing so, somehow slashed a gaping wound in her head with his machete.
Sounds like an innocent accident, right? Support orangutan conservation by pledging to Orangutan Outreach via their website: http://redapes.org/adopt
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Ducks Released From Rusty Cages After Years Inside. Watch Their Reaction To Water For The First Time!
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A hoarder had kept a group of ducks caged in pens for years, without sufficient access to food or water. Thankfully they were rescued by the Woodstock Farm Animal Sanctuary who came to the conclusion that these ducks had never even been IN water. Imagine it’s like living on earth as a human and never breathing air.
After being brought back to health, the rescuers had plans for getting these ducks acclimated to what should have been their natural habitat. As you will see in the video below, the saying that “they took to it like a duck to water”… well not exactly! But nonetheless it’s a true pleasure to watch these beautiful creatures in their natural habitat after years of neglect.
Watching this group of rehabilitated ducks experience water for the first time is at once, surprising and delightful. Ducks become “imprinted” to their mother as babies, following her in what looks like a choreographed formation. They continue to follow each other in this group formation, as you will see…except when they encounter this strange thing called a pond.
Watch what happens in this uplifting footage below. It will give you a great feeling all day!
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100 Horses Were Trapped On A Flooded Island. Now Watch These Few People Attempt THIS Rescue!
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More than 200 horses were surprised by a heavy storm in the northern part of the Netherlands. Water rose and surrounded a small piece of land leaving the horses stranded. Despite the sustenance provided by firemen and animal rescuers, close to twenty horses drowned or died from sun exposure or exhaustion in the three days that they were stuck on the tiny sliver of land.
Wind and icy rain tortured the horses as they huddled together with their rears against the weather. Boats failed by getting caught in the sand in attempts to reach the horses, but nonetheless 20 horses, including small and vulnerable foals, were relieved in the first rescue. One the third day, after the water had resided somewhat, a new approach became feasible.
A group of women with horses would use their animals to try to lure the helpless horses off of the deathly island. A 1 to 2 meter deep escape route was set in place by local firemen between drainage channels and submerged barbed wire fences. The frightened horses panicked as the women approached, scattering in all directions but with little place to go.
Once they got close enough to provide some guidance, the mass of stranded animals recognized the opportunity and formed into a stampede. People on all sides of the group stood to nudge the horses in the right direction and slowly, few by few, the horses trampled through the deep water to march to their recovery.
Whinnies and neighs filled air, making the feat even more magnificent to witness as they succeeded in reaching dry land.
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Have You Noticed These Parking Spots That Are Painted Purple, THIS Is What It Means..
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The men and women who have sacrificed so much serving our country are often celebrated and given a heroes welcome when they first return home from a tour of duty. Many of them go back to their families and eventually resume a normal civilian life, but countless others struggle with the transition.
For those who have been wounded in combat, the sudden shift from military to civilian life is especially difficult. Injured veterans face long uphill battles on their road to recovery. While many bear bodily scars and show the outwards signs of their injuries, many more are wounded internally, in their hearts and minds.
These men and women often witnessed horrific tragedies and fail to get the treatment and help they need. Some go on to develop PTSD or depression and all too often they end up suffering in silence. Lots of organizations, charities, support groups, and local community members want to raise awareness and help veterans readjust to life outside the military.
They offer medical and financial assistance, job training, special housing for those who return disabled, counseling, and much more. Recently, the Wounded Warriors Family Support Organization wrote that today in America “There are an estimated 1.8 million Purple Heart recipients, combat wounded service members who have transitioned back into civilian life.”
The organization noted that many veterans often go without help and unrecognized, and that our country can do a lot more for them. That’s why the organization decided to offer ‘Combat Wounded Parking Signs’ to local businesses across the country who wished to offer reserved parking spaces for those injured in combat.
The signs feature a prominent Purple Heart image, along with the words ‘combat wounded’ written in purple, plus ‘reserved’ to clearly signify what it all means. In addition, all of the reserved spots will be painted purple and the signs can be obtained free of charge from the organization.
Veterans and civilians alike have welcomed and hailed the spots as a great idea. One online social media user wrote “Priorities well placed! Even if the spot is empty, a good reminder for those who walk by.” Now that the word is out and more and more spots are popping up across the country, the idea is steadily gaining and bringing much needed attention to the plight of our nation’s veterans.
So the next time you see a purple parking spot, don’t park in it unless you have a Purple Heart. It’s just one small act of respect and acknowledgment that our veteran’s so clearly deserve.
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Daddy Switches On The Vacuum Close To The Baby. Now Watch The Dogs Surprise Reaction!
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You are about to watch the most adorable “brother and sister”…well a puppy brother and his newborn baby human sister. Both little babies and dogs hate the sound of vacuums and hair blowers, and other machines that emit those kind of noises. So together they can give each other the perfect amount of protection.
The scene opens, in the video below, in which a darling baby girl lays on her pink blanket, She’s waiting for a diaper change, and her white fur ball puppy brother is cuddling with her, resting his paw and head on her chest. Too cute for words. Well, it only gets cuter. I’m not sure if it’s the carpet cleaning service man or dad who is there and turns on the machine.
The pup, who has wandered away from the baby hears the noise, which repeatedly goes on and off. Watch to see the actions he takes to protect his baby sister, and maybe get some protection and himself, from the big bad orange machine! He’s protecting his baby sister until this out of control monster is gone!…
Or is she protecting him?
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Baby Elephant Tries Hard To Take A Bath On His Own. But Then His Mom Shows Up And Does THIS
Some kids love bath time, and others put up a fuss. The baby in the video you are about to watch below, is really into getting clean. He is doing everything in his power to get all of his 660 pounds into his small tub! This little guy is trying his absolute hardest to take the best bath ever.
The baby is one-year-old Navann, a baby elephant who is just adorable. He is so smart and patient in his endeavor to fit himself into the tub, that is a bit too confined for his frame. He works and works at it. At one point he has all 4 legs in and starts wetting himself with his trunk.
Navann wants to be completely immersed in the tub, but just can’t quite get all the parts under water. You will find yourself both giggling at his efforts and rooting him on, to keep on trying. Even though he looks too big for the tub, you have no idea how tiny he is until his mom arrives on the scene.
Clearly she’s not as patient as Navann…
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His Human Washes His Favorite Stuffed Toy. Now Watch What The Hidden Video Camera Caught!
Nothing demonstrates a Golden Retriever’s natural affinity for retrieving stuff than this video. In it an adorable and very sweet looking Retriever is on a mission to find her favorite teddy bear! Her mom took the stuffed bear to clean it and stuck it in the washing machine.
Knowing how much her dog loves the plushy toy, mom explained that “We set up a little sting operation to see if we could catch her on camera stealing it out of the washing machine…” One hidden camera shows the sneaky dog entering the laundry room, whereupon she immediately catches sight of her teddy bear in the front loading washer.
Tail wagging, she heads right on over to the machine and after a quick look about she sticks her head in and grabs the bear with her teeth. A second camera mounted inside the machine records the adorable moment, giving us a clear shot of the action. Mission accomplished, the dog rescued her favorite teddy and now it’s back in her loving paws!
The video shows that this Golden Retriever certainly lives up to her name, as the dogs were originally bred in the mid 19th century to find and recover game birds and waterfowl. She went straight for her teddy bear and scooped it out of the washer. It’s kind of like the modern day urban equivalent of getting a bird out of a pond!
While she didn’t get wet, she probably wouldn’t have been bothered if she had. Retrieving activities required the dogs to jump into all sorts of marshes, streams, and other bodies of water so they had to be easily trainable and couldn’t hesitate to get wet. Over the years the breed has become well known for their love of water, and with their naturally water-repellent coats, they are more than built for it.
Golden Retrievers are awesome companions and make wonderful family pets. They are sweet, loyal, trainable and even-tempered dogs who are perfect for families with young children. Those traits, along with their intelligence, also makes them excellent service dogs, especially for the blind. The list goes on and on and there are so many other great qualities about this breed.
One that stands out is their instinctive ability to find and recover items, like their favorite teddy bears and plushy toys!
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