KM Viray
2. Operation Lion Heart by Deanne Fitzmaurice (2004)
Operation Lion Heart features an Iraqi boy’s journey from the brink of death to a new life in California. Nine-year-old Saleh Khalaf was a victim in Operation Iraqi Freedom in 2003. An American doctor knew that his job was to treat only American soldiers, but Saleh’s unwillingness to die moved him. He made a split-second decision that would launch a dramatic mercy mission. The rescue operation would involve an airlift from Iraq to the Bay Area, require dozens of life-and-death surgeries, and attract worldwide media coverage.
Pulitzer Prize award-winning photojournalist Deanne Fitzmaurice won the highly respected award in 2005 for the photographic essay “Operation Lion Heart.”
