Photography of the Vietnam War
The devastating components of the Vietnam War were evident in Americans of all ages, particularly young men. Some could even call them boys, being drafted into the war at the ripe age of fifteen. The horrors of enduring the war were unbelievable, and yet, these young men had no choice but to fight for their country. Once stationed in Vietnam, the families of these young men desperately sought to see their brother, son, or grandson. The most important factor alongside television for seeing their family was through photographs. For this, and many other reasons, photography played an incredibly important role during the Vietnam War. Bonds were instantly created between the soldiers and the photographers because,
“photographers took many risks and suffered many of the same hardships as the soldiers and personnel they were covering.”
One of the most famous photographers that impacted the eyes of people all over the world was Eddie Adams. Adams worked for the Associated Press and was assigned to cover all areas of the war in Vietnam. He took many of some of the most famous photographs from this time period. His photograph, “Saigon Execution,” ended up winning the Pulitzer Prize in 1969, a year after it was taken.
http://rarehistoricalphotos.com/saigon-execution-murder-vietcong-saigon-1968/
It captured a moment that people never think they would see: the moment a bullet enters a man’s head. General Nguyen Ngoc Loan shot a suspected Vietcong, Van Lem, in the head in the streets of Saigon. This image is one of the most powerful war images of all time, and it hit home for both Americans and Vietnamese on the home front. Adams was conflicted about not only photographing this action, but the action itself. Shortly after the photograph was made, he said, “I’m not saying what he did was right, but you have to put yourself in his position.”
Another extremely influential Vietnam War photographer was a man named Malcolm Browne. His most famous photograph from this time period was the suicidal burning of a monk named Thich Quang Duc. In order to express his agony of the war, Duc sat in the middle of a busy intersection in downtown Saigon. A few of his fellow monks, monks of all different origins (some even originated from America), helped him set himself on fire by pouring gasoline onto his body. He then set himself on fire, and waited until he died.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Th%C3%ADch_Qu%E1%BA%A3ng_%C4%90%E1%BB%A9c_self-immolation.jpg
The intentions behind this man’s actions were political, but as Browne recalls in an interview with PBS in 2003, “He never cried out or screamed, but you could see from his expression that he was exposed to intense agony, and that he was dying on the spot.”
While there were horrifying photos happening away from the battlefield, there were some shocking images that played a huge role in the war as well. One of the most famous, if not the most famous, photograph from the Vietnam War was “Napalm Girl” photographed by Nick Ut. He was also a photographer working for Associated Press.
http://www.people.com/article/nick-ut-napalm-girl-photo-kim-phuc
This photo was taken in June of 1972; South Vietnamese accidentally bombed an area where Northern Vietnamese troops had occupied called Trang Bang. Ut captured a horrifying image of children, including a naked girl named Kim Phuc, running away form the attack. Nick Ut also won a Pulitzer for this photograph.
Undoubtedly, the way Americans remember the Vietnam War would be inadequate without the powerful photographs that came out of it. Many of these images are unfortunate, but they are the absolute truth, an unbiased and true representation of what actually occurred. Some say that the warfare, such as the atomic bomb, were unbelievably powerful and affected lives everywhere. However, in the words of Eddie Adams, “The camera is our most powerful weapon.”
The devastating components of the Vietnam War were evident in Americans of all ages, particularly young men. Some could even call them boys, being drafted into the war at the ripe age of fifteen. The horrors of enduring the war were unbelievable, and yet, these young men had no choice but to fight for their country. Once stationed in Vietnam, the families of these young men desperately sought to see their brother, son, or grandson. The most important factor alongside television for seeing their family was through photographs. For this, and many other reasons, photography played an incredibly important role during the Vietnam War. Bonds were instantly created between the soldiers and the photographers because,
“photographers took many risks and suffered many of the same hardships as the soldiers and personnel they were covering.”
One of the most famous photographers that impacted the eyes of people all over the world was Eddie Adams. Adams worked for the Associated Press and was assigned to cover all areas of the war in Vietnam. He took many of some of the most famous photographs from this time period. His photograph, “Saigon Execution,” ended up winning the Pulitzer Prize in 1969, a year after it was taken.
http://rarehistoricalphotos.com/saigon-execution-murder-vietcong-saigon-1968/
It captured a moment that people never think they would see: the moment a bullet enters a man’s head. General Nguyen Ngoc Loan shot a suspected Vietcong, Van Lem, in the head in the streets of Saigon. This image is one of the most powerful war images of all time, and it hit home for both Americans and Vietnamese on the home front. Adams was conflicted about not only photographing this action, but the action itself. Shortly after the photograph was made, he said, “I’m not saying what he did was right, but you have to put yourself in his position.”
Another extremely influential Vietnam War photographer was a man named Malcolm Browne. His most famous photograph from this time period was the suicidal burning of a monk named Thich Quang Duc. In order to express his agony of the war, Duc sat in the middle of a busy intersection in downtown Saigon. A few of his fellow monks, monks of all different origins (some even originated from America), helped him set himself on fire by pouring gasoline onto his body. He then set himself on fire, and waited until he died.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Th%C3%ADch_Qu%E1%BA%A3ng_%C4%90%E1%BB%A9c_self-immolation.jpg
The intentions behind this man’s actions were political, but as Browne recalls in an interview with PBS in 2003, “He never cried out or screamed, but you could see from his expression that he was exposed to intense agony, and that he was dying on the spot.”
While there were horrifying photos happening away from the battlefield, there were some shocking images that played a huge role in the war as well. One of the most famous, if not the most famous, photograph from the Vietnam War was “Napalm Girl” photographed by Nick Ut. He was also a photographer working for Associated Press.
http://www.people.com/article/nick-ut-napalm-girl-photo-kim-phuc
This photo was taken in June of 1972; South Vietnamese accidentally bombed an area where Northern Vietnamese troops had occupied called Trang Bang. Ut captured a horrifying image of children, including a naked girl named Kim Phuc, running away form the attack. Nick Ut also won a Pulitzer for this photograph.
Undoubtedly, the way Americans remember the Vietnam War would be inadequate without the powerful photographs that came out of it. Many of these images are unfortunate, but they are the absolute truth, an unbiased and true representation of what actually occurred. Some say that the warfare, such as the atomic bomb, were unbelievably powerful and affected lives everywhere. However, in the words of Eddie Adams, “The camera is our most powerful weapon.”