Ilie Mitaru Accepts 2025 Wounded Warrior Project® Award — Large Category

Ilie Mitaru, a photojournalist and documentary filmmaker, accepted the National Press Foundation’s 2025 Wounded Warrior Project® Award for Excellence in Coverage of Veterans in the large news organization category at NPF's Awards Dinner March 12, 2026. Mitaru won for his feature and photo essay in BBC Future on an experimental program pairing incarcerated combat veterans with horse therapy inside a Texas jail. “Mitaru’s work brings attention to an underreported aspect of incarceration,” said the NPF judges. “Access and trust are at such a premium in this story, and only a very skilled and sincere photojournalist could bring this story into public discourse.” Wounded Warrior Project® (WWP) and the National Press Foundation established the Wounded Warrior Project® Award for Excellence in Coverage of Veterans to elevate the discourse around veterans’ affairs in the media. By recognizing outstanding journalism, the awards seek to inspire high-quality reporting that fosters a deeper understanding of veterans’ needs, struggles, and triumphs. NPF is solely responsible for the content. This video was produced within the Evelyn Y. Davis studios.