10 Images from Popular Instagram Account Humans of NY’s Focus on Veterans

Brandon Stanton is using his popular Instagram account, humansofny, to spotlight the lives of American veterans of the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. Partnering with Headstrong Project, Stanton has titled his series “Invisible Wounds,” and hopes to show the hardships veterans may come home to, and how they manage those hardships with patriotism, disillusionment, pride, regret, gratitude, and grief.

“I know that many people have strong opinions about America’s involvement in Iraq and Afghanistan,” Stanton posted to Instagram. “But as we meet the individuals behind the uniforms, and seek to understand their stories, I’m hoping we can momentarily put those politics aside. This is a great group of people who served and sacrificed at the request of their country. And I’m very thankful that they’ve volunteered to share their stories.”

With over 5.8 million followers, there is no doubt Humans of New York will raise awareness of military veterans and the troubles they face on a daily basis. Here are some of our favorite posts so far:

10. Getting Started

For the next couple weeks I’ll be partnering with Headstrong Project to tell the stories of American veterans from the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. As with any group, there will be a wide range of viewpoints and experiences. There are often conflicting feelings: patriotism, disillusionment, pride, regret, gratitude, and grief. There is a common love for America, yet differing ideas about what exactly that means. Many of these stories will include PTSD, but the hardships of returning veterans are far too nuanced for a single diagnosis. And it can be inappropriate to use PTSD as a catch-all for those hardships. So we’ve chosen to title the series ‘Invisible Wounds.’ I know that many people have strong opinions about America’s involvement in Iraq and Afghanistan. But as we meet the individuals behind the uniforms, and seek to understand their stories, I’m hoping we can momentarily put those politics aside. This is a great group of people who served and sacrificed at the request of their country. And I’m very thankful that they’ve volunteered to share their stories.

A photo posted by Humans of New York (@humansofny) on Aug 8, 2016 at 9:21am PDT

9. Headstrong Project

Headstrong Project, an organization that seeks to provide free and easily accessible medical care to post-9/11 veterans, has of course been sharing Stanton’s work. They’ve received a similar outpouring of support from around the world.