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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Tens of thousands of Afghans came to the U.S. after the 2021 Taliban takeover, but they don't have legal status. A bipartisan bill in Congress to grant that status has been blocked.
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Navy Lt. Jack McCain trained Afghans to pilot Black Hawk helicopters. When Kabul fell, McCain and others helped the pilots escape to the U.S. But their permanent status is uncertain. -
Teams from a dozen counties are leaving blood on the ice in their quest to get bobsled and skeleton on the Paralympic roster. -
A Black Vietnam veteran is suing the Department of Veterans Affairs for discrimination, according to records obtained by FOIA. The VA says it's studying how to address a history of racial bias.
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Climate scientists have been issuing dire warnings about rising sea levels. The U.S. military has been taking measures to safeguard its facilities.
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The National Museum of the American Indian holds a dedication ceremony Friday for a memorial honoring Native veterans.
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A group called Vet the Vote is encouraging veterans to help out with the shortage of election workers in an atmosphere made tense by heated rhetoric and even threats against poll workers.
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Black vets fought overseas but returned home to segregation — which made it harder for them to benefit from the GI Bill. Some in Congress hope to remedy that injustice. -
In 1944, the GI Bill lifted a generation into the middle class — but excluded Black vets who served their country at war and came home to segregation. A bill in Congress aims to fix that.
