U.S. Focus: Veterans in North Carolina
In the fourth story of a new collaboration between Magnum and Le Temps, Peter van Agtmael travels to North Carolina with reporter Simon Petite to explore the political views of former soldiers
Four Magnum photographers have teamed up with two reporters from the Swiss newspaper Le Temps to document key issues in the United States ahead of the upcoming presidential elections in November.
Alongside Simon Petite and Léo Tichelli, photographers Eli Reed, Larry Towell, Cristina de Middel and Peter van Agtmael explore themes of economy, democracy, abortion, foreign policy, and immigration in several key states. The collaboration will also explore images from the Magnum archive in special publications in October and November.
For the final report in the series, Peter van Agtmael traveled to North Carolina with journalist Simon Petite in July 2024 to explore the point of view of veterans on recent U.S. foreign interventions.
Home to the largest U.S. military base, Fort Liberty, North Carolina is one of the most disputed states for this November elections, with most recent polls indicating former President Donald J. Trumps ahead of Democrat Kamala Harris by 0.2%.
Military veterans have long been aligned with the Republican Party. According to a recent study by the PEW Research Center, 61% of former soldiers said they support former President Donald Trump ahead of the November election, while Kamala Harris has 37% of supporters in this demographic.
Peter van Agtamel has spent more than 15 years covering the impact of U.S.-led wars from both sides and numerous angles, from embedding with military forces in Iraq and Afghanistan to covering rising tension in the United States.
At a ranch rodeo event at Lumber Bridge, North Carolina, a few miles from Fort Liberty, many veterans and families gather to watch men and women compete in various rodeo-related events, such as wrestling a calf to the ground or staying on a cow’s back for as long as possible.
During their trip, Petite and Van Agtmael met with former soldiers to get their perspective on recent U.S. military interventions abroad, such as in Afghanistan and Iraq. Most of the veterans they met were disillusioned or traumatized, convinced by Trump’s isolationist stance that the U.S. must end its role as an international intervener. Paradoxically, these Republicans see the 2021 withdrawal from Afghanistan as one of Biden’s biggest international policy failures and advocate for a U.S. presence on the ground in Afghanistan.
Joe Vargas, who was selling patriotic furniture at the Rodeo event, was deployed to Iraq in 2006 and 2007. He said it took him two years to recover, the time needed to realize how important it is for politicians to put their country first instead of waging wars that do not concern but hurt America’s inhabitants.
Another individual that they met, Edward Beard, is responsible for Post 6018 of the “Veterans of Foreign Wars,” one of the United States’ oldest veteran organizations, made up of 1.4 million members according to Le Temps. Beard left the army before the 2003 Iraq operation after serving 23 years in Kuwait, Germany and South Korea. With a positive stance on Biden’s move to retreat troops from Afghanistan, the veteran is now confident in Harris’ decision-making concerning the U.S. military involvement around the world.
As part of his work in the organization, Beard led a distribution of school supplies before the beginning of the school year, while also hosting a voter registration booth.
The town of Fayetteville in North Carolina is home to the United States Army Airborne & Special Operations Museum. Established in August 2000, the museum explores the memory of U.S. airborne operations from 1940 to the present.
Though home to many veterans, Fayetteville remains mostly Democratic due to its large African-American population. Sidney Neely, 83, served as a paratrooper during World War II, and was one of many originally ostracized before being integrated into the Fayetteville-based 82nd Division. Neely is now part of the non-political organization The Veterans of Foreign Wars of the U.S., which praised the fact that while Harris and Trump did not serve in the Army, their respective vice presidents, Vance and Walz, are both former combatants.
Read the full story, in French, via Le Temps.
