Quil Lawrence
Quil Lawrence is a New York-based correspondent for NPR News, covering veterans' issues nationwide. He won a Robert F. Kennedy Award for his coverage of American veterans and a Gracie Award for coverage of female combat veterans. In 2019 Iraq and Afghanistan Veterans of America honored Quil with its IAVA Salutes Award for Leadership in Journalism.
Lawrence started his career in radio by interviewing con men in Tangier, Morocco. He then moved to Bogota, Colombia, and covered Latin America for NPR, the BBC, and The LA Times.
In the Spring of 2000, a Pew Fellowship sponsored his first trips to Iraq — that reporting experience eventually built the foundation for his first book, Invisible Nation: How the Kurds' Quest for Statehood is Shaping Iraq and the Middle East (Bloomsbury, 2009).
Lawrence has reported from throughout the Arab world and from Sudan, Cuba, Pakistan, Israel, Gaza, and the West Bank. He covered Iraq and Afghanistan for twelve years, serving as NPR's Bureau Chief in Baghdad and Kabul. He covered the fall of the Taliban in 2001, the invasion of Iraq in 2003, the second battle of Fallujah in 2004, as well as politics, culture, and war in both countries.
In 2012, Lawrence returned to the U.S. to cover the millions of men and women who have served at war, both recently and in past generations. NPR is possibly unique among major news organizations in dedicating a full-time correspondent to veterans and the Department of Veterans Affairs.
A native of Maine, Lawrence studied history at Brandeis University, with concentrations in the Middle East and Latin America. He is fluent in Spanish and conversant in Arabic.
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As 20 years of war draw to a close, a divide separates those who served and those who haven't. The "civ-mil divide" can leave veterans alienated and civilians unfamiliar with what it means to serve. -
The comedian and activist is helping to launch a new campaign to fight for war veterans who say they are sick because of exposure to burn pits and other toxins in Afghanistan and Iraq. -
Thousands of people who were planning to visit war memorials in Washington, D.C., on Memorial Day had to cancel this year. That includes veterans traveling with the nonprofit network Honor Flight. -
Veterans Affairs Secretary Robert Wilkie says his health system is not overwhelmed, but it has been forced to ration protective gear.
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Cuomo has joined other states and said people in New York must wear masks in public when they can't remain 6 feet apart, in order to protect the gains his state has made against the coronavirus. -
The U.S. Public Health Service has won congressional authorization for a ready reserve of doctors and nurses to deploy across the country. -
City officials have recalculated the number of deaths caused by the coronavirus to include some 4,000 people who died at home probably from the illness but who were not tested. -
And despite his combative tone on Monday, President Trump on Tuesday afternoon said he would be making decisions about how to reopen the economy in consultation with governors. -
Seven Veterans Affairs staffers have died from the virus, and unions for VA workers have been sounding the alarm about shortages of protective gear and insufficient staffing. -
In an interview with NPR, Secretary for Veterans Affairs Robert Wilkie said the department was ready to deploy if called on to help with the coronavirus pandemic response.