In this Tuesday, Dec. 13, 2011, photo, injured United States Marine Cpl. Burness Britt reacts after seeing pictures of his evacuation laid out on his bed in the Hunter Holmes Medical Center in Richmond, Va. Britt is facing a long recovery after a large piece of shrapnel from an IED in Afghanistan in June 2011 cut a major artery on his neck. During his first operation in Afghanistan he suffered a stroke and became partially paralyzed. (AP Photo/Anja Niedringhaus)

AP photojournalist Anja Niedringhaus has covered war and conflict for 20 years. She has received a Pulitzer Prize and the International Women's Media Foundation's Courage in Journalism Award for her work. She has spent considerable time covering the Afghan conflict and spent 2 1/2 weeks in June with the U.S. Army's "Dust Off" Medevac unit in southwest Afghanistan.

RICHMOND, Va. (AP) — Inside the medevac helicopter in Afghanistan, U.S. Marine Cpl. Burness Britt bleeds profusely from his neck. He and two other Marines have just been hit by shrapnel, with Britt's injuries the most serious. The medevac crew chief clutches one of Britt's blood-covered hands as he is given oxygen. I take hold of the other.

In this Saturday, June 4, 2011 photo, U.S. Army Chief Spc. Jenny Martinez holds the hand of injured U.S. Marine Cpl. Burness Britt onboard a medevac helicopter from the U.S. Army's Task Force Lift "Dust Off," Charlie Company 1-214 Aviation Regiment, after he was wounded in an IED strike near Sangin, in the Helmand Province of southern Afghanistan. (AP Photo/Anja Niedringhaus) PART OF A 14-PICTURE PACKAGE BY ANJA NIEDRINGHAUS; ITALY OUT

With my free hand, I lift my camera and take some pictures. I squeeze Britt's hand and he returns the gesture, gripping my palm tighter and tighter until he slips into unconsciousness. His shirt is ripped, but I notice a piece of wheat stuck to it. I pluck it off and tuck it away in the pocket of my body armor.

In my 20 years as a photographer, covering conflicts from Bosnia to Gaza to Iraq to Afghanistan, injured civilians and soldiers have passed through my life many times. None has left a greater impression on me than Britt.

I knew him only for a few minutes in that helicopter, but I believed we would meet again one day, and I hoped to give him that small, special piece of wheat. Click to continue reading here

In this Saturday, June 4, 2011 photo, injured United States Marine Cpl. Burness Britt reacts after being lifted onto a medevac helicopter from the U.S. Army's Task Force Lift "Dust Off," Charlie Company 1-214 Aviation Regiment. Britt was wounded in an IED strike near Sangin, in the Helmand Province of southern Afghanistan. At the Hunter Holmes Medical Center in Richmond, Va., Britt is facing a long recovery after a large piece of shrapnel cut a major artery on his neck. During his first operation in Afghanistan he suffered a stroke and became partially paralyzed. (AP Photo/Anja Niedringhaus) PART OF A 14-PICTURE PACKAGE BY ANJA NIEDRINGHAUS; ITALY OUT

In this Saturday, June 4, 2011, photo, injured United States Marine Cpl. Burness Britt reacts after being lifted onto a medevac helicopter from the U.S. Army's Task Force Lift "Dust Off," Charlie Company 1-214 Aviation Regiment. Britt was wounded in an IED strike near Sangin, in the Helmand Province of southern Afghanistan. At the Hunter Holmes Medical Center in Richmond, Va., Britt is facing a long recovery after a large piece of shrapnel cut a major artery on his neck. During his first operation in Afghanistan he suffered a stroke and became partially paralyzed. (AP Photo/Anja Niedringhaus)