Band of Brothers: The Lives and Deaths of War Photographers

CBS Sunday Morning just aired this 9-minute segment that looks into the world of war photography, in which photojournalists risk life and limb to document the violence of war up close.

Reporter Ted Koppel looks at former New York Times photographer Mike Kamber’s efforts to educate youth about photojournalism through his Bronx Documentary Center, the dangers faced by photographers in conflict zones, and the legacies of two war photographers who lost their lives “in the pursuit of the truth amid the chaos of battle” (Tim Hetherington and Chris Hondros).

Filmmaker Sebastian Junger had originally planned to go on assignment in Misrata, Libya, to cover the country’s civil war with Hetherington but was unable to go at the last minute. On April 20th, 2011, Hetherington and Hondros were killed by the same mortar. Hetherington had been struck by shrapnel in the groin, and his death was caused by massive blood loss as he was surrounded by photographers who didn’t know how to stop the bleeding.

Junger later founded RISC (Reporters Instructed in Saving Colleagues) in order to train war photographers and journalists in potentially life-saving techniques that could save lives out in the field.