Soldier Photos Spark Comments on Metro

WASHINGTON, D.C. - In the last few days, customers at six Metrorail stations have been somewhat befuddled as they walk by advertising posters. The oddities that are catching their eyes are a series of photographs labeled "soldier." In the shots, open-eyed soldiers are staring forward with their heads lying in repose on tabletops.

"He looks dead," commented one transit user. "He's got a very cadaverous look," added another.

The subjects in the photos are soldiers, and they are not dead. Artistic photographer Suzanne Opton got permission to photograph veterans returning from the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan at their command headquarters in Fort Drum, New York.

"I wanted to make a vulnerable picture of a soldier," explained Opton. "I think all soldiers are heroes, but I think they are [also] sons and fathers and brothers [and] ...we should keep that in mind when we think about soldiers."

Suzanne Opton's photographs of war veterans have been shown in galleries and on billboards. And now they are on subway posters, thanks to funding from artistic-oriented foundations. The photos are meant to provoke public reaction and debate. And they do.

"I think it's a sad face," mused Thahn Truc of Alexandria. "It's more like [an] anti-war [statement]." Lewis Titterton, of Arlington, can't make up his mind if he likes or dislikes Opton's photos. He does find them "striking."

Jim Winslow, who served for four years in the Air Force, does not like the vulnerable look to the soldiers. "If they're talking about soldiers," ruminated Winslow, "You would think: somebody upright, strong, forceful. Moving forward. This is -- uh -- defeated."

Asked if she minds such negative reactions, Opton replies, "No! I'm flattered that [people] respond. I know the pictures are provocative -- there are many ways of seeing them. And I welcome all responses."

If you want to see the Soldier Billboard Project we told you about on the FOX 5 News at 5, here's where you can find them:

Suzanne Opton's "Solider Billboard Project" photos are located among the advertising posters at the following Metro stations: Farragut West
Metro Center (12th and G entrance)
Gallery Place (Chinatown Entrance)
L'Enfant Plaza
Pentagon City
Rosslyn

The photos will remain on display until April 4th.

FOR A LINK TO OPTON'S SITE, CLICK HERE.