Have a question? Need assistance? Use our online form to ask a librarian for help.
Units: 1st Battalion, 25th Marine Regiment, 4th Marine Division
Branch of Service: Marine Corps
War / Conflict: Iraq War, 2003-2011
"If there was any way to tell them why we were there, I would’ve liked to do that." (Video interview, part 2, 15:57)
Colin Bradford graduated from boot camp in January 2005 and by the end of that year his Reserve unit had been mobilized for a deployment to Iraq. Originally trained as a mortarman, Bradford and the rest of Weapons Company, 1st Battalion, 25th Marines served in “mobile assault platoons” responsible for conducting vehicle-mounted operations throughout the city of Fallujah. While patrolling the city, his unit faced the constant threat of improvised explosive devices (IEDs), as well as occasional small arms fire and sniper attacks. Surviving a few close calls, combined with the loss of several servicemembers from his battalion, caused him to reflect on the fragility of life, and express frustration that they were not able to convince the Iraqi people of their good intentions.
Bradford's collection provides a unique on-the-ground perspective of the threats that American service members faced at the height of the insurgency in Iraq. He captured the aftermath of IED attacks, and also photographed sites where his platoon had been ambushed. Additionally, his photos provide insight into what daily life was like for the people of Iraq: we see heavily damaged urban spaces, a sandstorm, a mosque that was used by insurgents as an ambush position, and women waiting in line for propane.
Military historians refer to the US wars in Afghanistan and Iraq as "asymmetrical wars," wherein one side has far greater resources than the other. The insurgents in both of these wars had no hope of fighting American and allied forces on an equal footing, so they had to find creative and inexpensive methods and weapons. Their weapon of choice was the improvised explosive device (IED), which is estimated to have caused more than half of all American casualties in these wars. The threat of encountering an IED was thus a persistent concern for American service members, and one that required them to be ever on their guard against a weapon that was both deadly and difficult to detect.
Deployed to Fallujah, Iraq in 2006, Colin Bradford witnessed several IED attacks, and his photographs provide a striking testimony to the destruction and despair they could cause - to US forces, Iraqi forces, and Iraqi civilians alike.
The IED attack of September 4 (above left), killed three members of Bradford's unit, including a close friend. The suicide car bomb attack of October 1 (above right) did not result in any American casualties, but demonstrates the complex hazard of suicide car bombs, known in military parlance as suicide vehicle-borne IEDs (SVBIEDs).
