Hallway / Resting Marines

Pinkish walls and repeated floor tiles draw the view toward a bright doorway at the back. Kenny Bass sits to the viewer's left in uniform with an AK-47 across his lap. Tim Jones sits to the viewer's right on an MRE box, wearing a dark shirt and camouflage trousers. He holds a pistol angled toward the floor.

Several AK-47s lean against the right wall, some with folding stocks and others with wooden stocks. Disconnected electrical wires trail along the floor. Near the viewer on the left are a green canteen lying on its side, an upside-down desert camouflage boonie cover and what appears to be a desert camouflage backpack. Several glass soda bottles stand on the opposite side. A small black patrol pack rests beside Jones. Two more MRE boxes and scattered debris are visible near the far doorway.

Tile joints and wall edges converge toward Bass, Jones and the bright doorway. Rifles and personal gear line the narrow living space: weapons on the right, field gear on the left, and food and drink containers distributed through the corridor.

Bass and Jones slept in this hallway for roughly six to eight weeks while their unit protected the weapons-manufacturing complex and drove off looters. Jamie Herman made the photograph.

Tim and I slept in this hallway for about six to eight weeks. I remember at least eleven other Marines living within the smaller compound, posted at positions around its perimeter while we protected the weapons-manufacturing complex and drove off looters.

Photograph by Jamie Herman.

Photograph 8 of 15.

• The hallway occupied the small gate building at the entrance to the inner bunker compound. The concrete pillar opposite it was the one used to remove the Kia Bongo's door.