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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Hundreds of current and former VA clinicians have sent an open letter to the Secretary of Veterans Affairs, warning that cuts and increased privatization threaten the VA health care system.
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The Pentagon is implementing new guidelines that will require journalists to sign a pledge and agree to report only approved and officially released information. -
A bipartisan Congress has come to the rescue of vets at risk of losing their homes, after administrations from both parties tore up VA safety nets for homeowners. -
Aid groups are suing the Trump administration over its freeze of refugee programs, but criticism is also coming from Republicans who want to help Afghan refugees who aided the U.S. military.
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A non profit has recruited more than 160,000 veterans as poll workers, in the face of growing threats and skepticism about the security of elections.
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Republican JD Vance and Democrat Tim Walz are both military veterans. Vance has gone after Walz's service.
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JD Vance has accused Governor Tim Walz of embellishing his military record, and even used the words "stolen valor," a serious accusation in military circles.
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McDonough, who did not serve in the military, is a longtime aide of former President Barack Obama. -
The newest monument on the National Mall, which opens on Veterans Day, will provide a quiet shrine for Native vets to visit. Native Americans have traditionally served in high numbers. -
Despite this year's Gold Star event landing amid the pandemic, the White House didn't cancel it. President Trump says when he met these family members, he couldn't bear to keep them at arms-length.
