These 21 images (shared with WATM courtesy of Lou Reda Productions) vividly capture the nature of war from a variety of angles. Each of them was awarded the Pulitzer prize for photography in the year indicated in the caption.
Take a look at these 21 Pulitzer Prize-winning photos that capture the essence of war
1944 – Aftermath of a flamethrower attack on Tarawa
1944 – Lt. Col. Robert Moore, USA, returns to his family after fighting the Germans in North Africa
1945 – The flag raising at Iwo Jima
1951 – Refugees fleeing across the Taedong River during the Chinese invasion of North Korea
1965 – South Vietnamese casualties after a firefight with the Vietcong
1966 – Vietnamese refugees fleeing an attack
1969 – Lt. Col. Nguyen Loan summarily executes a VC prisoner on the streets of Saigon
1972 – Marine on top of a war-torn hill after battle with NVA
1973 – Vietnamese children fleeing after napalm attack on Vietcong-held village
1974 – Lt. Col Robert Stirm, USAF, returns to his family after 5 years as a POW in North Vietnam
1977 – Vietnam veteran and wounded warrior Eddie Robinson at Chattanooga Veterans Day parade
1978 – American mercenary, member of “Grey’s Scouts,” holds gun to the head of a Rhodesian prisoner
1980 – Iranian Republican Guardsmen executing Kurdish rebels
1995 – American Marine trying to keep Haitian rioters at bay during unrest
2002 – B-52 contrails during bombing mission over Afghanistan
2004 – Soldiers jumping into ditch in Iraq
2004 – Soldiers taking Iraqi prisoner
2004 – Iraqi schoolboy proclaims his freedom
2005 – Marine taking an Iraqi insurgent prisoner in Fallujah
2005 – Marines huddle over wounded comrade during fighting in Anbar Province
2006 – Katherine Cathey spends the night next to the casket of her fallen husband, 2nd Lt. James Cathey, USMC
These images and many other iconic shots can be found in Moments, The Pulitzer Prize-Winning Photographs, A Visual Chronicle of Our Time (Hal Buell, Tess Press).