Vietnam, 1968: The Vision

It was January of 1968. On the evening news every night the lead story was always the war in Vietnam: footage of burning villages, dead civilians, wounded soldiers and the inevitable “body counts.” In just 6 months I would recieve my BS in photography from Rochester Institute of Technology. The war was at the forefront of our minds, especially knowing that at graduation we would face the inevitability of the draft.
Just one day prior to facing the draft, I enlisted in the Army instead. I was assigned to the photo lab of the US Army Exhibit Unit, Alexandria, Virginia, a little-known Department of the Army group staffed mostly with college-educated craftspeople.Part of my job was to print photographic murals of war scenes from Vietnam to decorate the halls of the Pentagon. Despite scenes with helicopters and soldiers sloshing through rice paddies, I glimpsed the inherent beauty of Vietnam and it haunted me with its beauty and power, its vibrant colors and resilient people staring back at me through the smoke of conflict.

Vietnam, 2000: The Truth

For years that fascination remained dormant until 2000 when my wife asked me what I wanted for my 55th birthday. Without thinking and without hesitation I said, “I want to go to Vietnam and take pictures.” Even I was surprised by the response. I didn’t know what was drawing me, yet I felt an almost magnetic pull to be photographing there. When I got to Vietnam, I knew why I’d had to come. . . and these images you are about to see are the reason. I feel they show Vietnam as it is, colorful, strong, filled with energy . . . and hope.

“Between the idea and the action falls the shadow.”

Those are the poet T.S. Eliot’s words. I kept hearing them as I traveled amidst the varied topography, climate zones and emerging economy of Vietnam today. What I found there was a pervasive sense of forgiveness and an almost surreal feeling of joy as tasks were performed as they have been for thousands of years. The bright colors, muted colors, tones and textures were a perfect palate in the early morning hours of photography. The shadow in my memory was lifting.

I was a stranger in a strange land and it spoke volumes to me. The idea and the action of my trip to Vietnam revealed as much about my life as the lives of the people I met and captured on film. I first saw it in the sterility of our supermarkets compared to the energy and vibrancy of the outdoor markets in Vietnam. It was startling. I saw it in the fact that our lives in the west often take place behind closed doors, locked in insulated worlds. There, life happens on the sidewalks and streets––the vibrant, unprivate, fresh truth of it all.

My gift: A New Place in Time

And so, of course, I was delighted with this birthday gift and wanted to share it with you. I hope you enjoy the silent stories these images portray, that they work to change your visions of Vietnam. . .those once-upon-a-time images of war and smoke and pain. . .to ones of forgiveness and joy, color and beauty, peace and delight.