The horrors of war in unique portraits. Photo

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In the American military lexicon is the term “a look at two thousand yards.” So talking about the facial expression of the soldier who survived a powerful emotional upheaval during the battle. Eyes directed forward, but they see nothing. The mind under the influence of extreme stress almost stops running. People in such moments lives on autopilot.

U.S. marine Robert Delaney after two days and nights of the battle on the beach of enewetak Atoll. Marshall Islands, February 1944.

This unusual term came into use after Life magazine published a reproduction of the eponymous painting American martial artist Thomas Lee. He was on the battlefield during a battle with Japanese troops for the island of Peleliu in Micronesia and has seen many Americans who have fallen into a stupor after the assault another height. He soon wrote a picture of a soldier who saw too much terrible.

Thomas Lee, “a Look at two thousand yards”, 1944.

Psychologists believe that staying look is a manifestation of a protective reaction of the body. Mind for some time loses the ability to perceive the surrounding reality, thus escaping from overload. After the tension subsides, the thought process comes back to normal.

Italian soldier Antonio Petrocco after the battle, which lasted 72 hours. Photographer Maki Galimberti.

German soldiers, taken prisoner during the battle of Passchendaele, 1917.

Dressing station the First world war. The surroundings of Ypres, 1917. One of the most terrible examples of the “look at two thousand yards.”

American soldiers Carlos Orjuela. Afghanistan, Helmand province, 2008. Photographer Louie Palu.

“A look at two thousand yards”, of course, can be observed during all military conflicts (and in normal life too), but most of these pictures refer to the war in Vietnam. The fact that, unlike other wars, correspondents, who worked in Vietnam, didn’t try to hide these images for fear of undermining the morale of the army. Photos of stunned Americans were used as an anti-war symbol.

American soldiers Mike Tripp in the Catholic Church On tho An Hoa. Vietnam, 15 may 1967. Photographer Frank Johnston.

American marine, shell-shocked in the battle for hue, Vietnam, 1968. Photographer — Don McCallin.

American soldier Jacob William Moore, trapped with his unit in an ambush Kandahar, Afghanistan, 2010. Photographer — Jerome Starkly.

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