Russell Klika Russell Lee Klika ( born 1960 ) is an award - winning newspaper and U . S . military combat photographer , photojournalist and trainer who grew up in Appleton , Wisconsin , 100 miles north of Milwaukee . Education . Klika attended Appleton High School but dropped out in the 10th grade . While in the military on a Western Pacific cruise , he obtained his GED . In 1988 , he graduated from the Eddie Adams Workshop . Military career . At age 17 , Klika joined the U . S . Marine Corps and eventually became a combat photographer and trainer , serving 12 years . Staff Sgt . Klika served three tours of duty in Iraq , the latest in 2006 with the 133rd Mobile Public Affairs Detachment of the Tennessee Army National Guard . and , 2008 , one tour of duty in Afghanistan , where United Press International regularly picked up and ran his photos on the wire . He remained deployed on full duty as a combat photographer in Afghanistan until late 2009 . His photos from the frontline have been featured on Tennessee ' s Volunteer State Guard online publication in a column titled " Klika ' s Korner . " Photography . In late 1980 , he left the Marine Corps and became head photographer at " The Vista Press " , a now - closed daily newspaper in Vista , California , where he covered the 1992 Rodney King riots in Los Angeles , California . While at " The Vista Press " , in 1992 he was awarded Best of Show photo in the San Diego Press Club ' s annual county - wide journalism contest . He left the newspaper in 1992 to go to work for the " Escondido Times Advocate " while also freelancing for the " Los Angeles Times " . In 2004 , he joined the 278th Regimental Combat Team Tennessee Army National guard as a noncommissioned officer as head of public affairs , deploying with the unit for a tour in Iraq . After he returned , he became an operation warrior trainer for the first army and a combat photography trainer in public affairs at Camp Atterbury in Edinburgh , Indiana . When his service ended in February 2008 , Klika became a contract employee for the National Guard in Smyma , Tennessee , where he currently supervises civilian photographers assigned to the National Guard . Awards and appearances . In April 2007 , Klika won first place in the Military Photographer of the Year contest for his portrait of an Iraqi child . In February 2008 , 40 of his Iraq photos were displayed at Slippery Rock University in Pennsylvania . In May 2008 , Klika was awarded an honorable mention in the Art of Photography Show for a photo titled " Faces of Iraq , " on display at the Lyceum Theatre Gallery in downtown San Diego . In February 2008 , he had two one - man shows and gave lectures at Point Park University and Slippery Rock University In May 2007 , his photos of soldiers saving a dog along the Syrian - Iraqi border were featured on an animal rescue news site . Then , in late May 2008 , his photos appeared with eight other combat photographers ' in the " Eye of the Storm " gallery showing in West Hollywood , California . In June 2009 , he was awarded the Bronze Star from the Army ' s Special Forces after going with his unit on more than 60 combat missions in Afghanistan and documenting the operations with photo images . Klika ' s photography work in Iraq is depicted in his book " Iraq : Through the Eyes of an American Soldier " , with an introduction and foreword by author Cathy Scott .