Denver Post's Walker receives Pulitzer prize

Brian Scott Ostrom cups his hand over his mouth as he tries to calm a panic attack at his apartment in Boulder, Colorado in this undated handout photo. This image is part of Denver Post photographer Craig F. Walker's photo story that won the 2012 Pulitzer Prize for Feature Photography, announced on April 16, 2012 about an honorably discharged veteran, home from Iraq and struggling with a severe case of post-traumatic stress. REUTERS/Craig F. Walker/The Denver Post

Brian Scott Ostrom looks over his military service records and weeps after being told his apartment application had been turned down in this undated handout photo. The leasing manager said he could not allow Ostrom to move in because of an assault charge on his background check. This image is part of Denver Post photographer Craig F. Walker's photo story that won the 2012 Pulitzer Prize for Feature Photography, announced on April 16, 2012 about an honorably discharged veteran, home from Iraq and struggling with a severe case of post-traumatic stress. REUTERS/Craig F. Walker/The Denver Post

When Columbia University announced the 96th annual Pulitzer Prize winners today, there was a Colorado name on the list.

* Craig F. Walker, a staff journalist at the Denver Post, won the Pulitzer Prize for feature photography for his chronicle of an honorably discharged veteran of the Iraq war.

* According to the Denver Post, Walker's winning work, entitled "Welcome Home," followed the story of Scott Ostrom, who served two deployments to Iraq. After four years as a reconnaissance man, Marine veteran Ostrom, 27, came back with a severe case of post-traumatic stress disorder.

* The Pulitzer board stated Walker's images "enable viewers to better grasp a national issue."

* This is the second Pulitzer for feature photography Walker has won, earning the honor in 2010 as well.

* Walker's 2010 winning work also focused on the theme of the Iraq war, with "an intimate portrait of a teenager who joins the Army at the height of insurgent violence in Iraq," the Pulitzer citation read.

* In a February interview with The Image, Deconstructed, Walker said of his 2010 winning work that, to make the best images, he needed to live his life as his subject -- Ian, a young Army recruit -- was living his, complete with culture shock and sleep deprivation.

* "Welcome Home" also earned Walker the honor of Newspaper Photographer of the Year in the Missouri School of Journalism's Pictures of the Year International competition and the American Society of News Editors' community service photojournalism award, the Denver Post reported.

* Walker began working at the Denver Post in 1998. Since 2001, he has been chronicling the aftermath of 9/11, from the collapse of the World Trade Center towers to the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan.

(Agencies)