• Photojournalist Joao Silva, back in action and back on page one

    By Rich Shulman

    Last October, New York Times photojournalist Joao Silva stepped on a land mine while covering the war in Afghanistan. PhotoBlog posts here and here documented the event. Silva lost both legs, and was taken to Walter Reed Army Medical Center for treatment.

    Silva started walking on his prosthetic legs in February.

    Yesterday, he covered the closing ceremonies at Walter Reed for the paper; his photo, below, was featured on today's front page.

    The New York Times Lens blog reported this heartwarming story.

    Joao Silva for The New York Times

    Soldiers and guests watch a parachute demonstration by the Golden Knights after the Casing of the Colors ceremony at the Walter Reed Army Medical Center. The Army held a closing ceremony Wednesday, as authorities prepared to move hundreds of patients and vast amounts of equipment to new and refurbished facilities in Maryland and Virginia.

    Jerome Delay / AP

    In this Feb. 2009 photo New York Times photographer Joao Silva is seen while on assignment in Madagascar. Silva was seriously wounded when stepping on a mine while covering US troops in southern Afghanistan it was reported Saturday Oct 23 2010. Silva was evacuated to Kandahar Air Field where he was receiving treatment, the newspaper said in a statement. Silva, who has received several awards for his work, has photographed wars in Afghanistan, Iraq, southern Africa, the Balkans and the Middle East. He is the author, with Greg Marinovich, of "The Bang-Bang Club," a chronicle of a group of four photographers covering the violence in South Africa in the 1990s.

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  • Walter Reed closing after more than 100 years of treating wounded troops

    By Rich Shulman

    There is some pretty amazing history associated with Walter Reed Army Medical Center. Today's closing ceremony really marks the end of an era.

    Slideshow.

    Watch Nightly News video below.

    Luis Alvarez / AP

    Army personnel take part in a flag casing ceremony at Walter Reed Army Medical Center in Washington, Wednesday, July 27. Walter Reed Army Medical Center, the military's flagship hospital where privates to presidents have gone for care for more than a century, is closing its doors.

    Luis Alvarez / AP

    A member of the U.S. Army Golden Knights parachutes onto the front lawn of the Walter Reed Army Medical Center in Washington, Wednesday, July 27 after a flag casing ceremony. Walter Reed Army Medical Center, the military's flagship hospital where privates to presidents have gone for care for more than a century, is closing its doors.

    In a cost-cutting move, Walter Reed Army Medical Center will close its doors for good. The hospital treated many of the country's wounded soldiers, including 18,000 Americans wounded in Iraq and Afghanistan. NBC's Jim Miklaszewski reports.