The New York Times
Nine months after he lost both legs to a land mine in Afghanistan, a photo by Joao Silva is on the front page of The New York Times. David Dunlap and James Estrin describe on the Times’ Lens blog what Times correspondent Sabrina Tavernise saw as she rushed to cover the closing ceremony at Walter Reed Army Medical Center, where Silva has been a patient: “Mr. Silva, wearing a T-shirt with the exclamation ‘Pow! written across the front, was already on the scene. He was smiling. He was walking on his prosthetic legs. And he was taking pictures.” It turns out that Silva was already planning to cover the event. He has to shift his cane to his left arm to take photos and was somewhat frustrated with mobility, but he said, “It was a matter of making the best of what I had. … There will come a time when I can run, but now I can walk.” || Next gig: Keller tells me in an email that Silva will go to New York next week to work out details of his next assignment. || Earlier: The Times hires freelancer Silva after his injury; Silva tells Keller that he wished he were covering the Libyan civil war; Silva stands on his prosthetic legs for an unannounced visit by First Lady Michelle Obama. || Related: Stringer for BBC killed in suicide attack in Afghanistan.
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- Joao Silva covered the closing ceremony of Walter Reed Army Medical Center, where he has been a patient since losing his legs to a land mine. (Joao Silva/New York Times)
