Photography
Remembers Forever
|
 Memorial Day 2000 had me
pondering two books that have been on my computer desk almost as long as I have owned this
PC. One is a moving collection of images by photographers who documented the
struggle in Indochina and Vietnam. It is simply titled Requiem.
The working photo-journalists featured in this book are from many countries and all sides
of the drawn out conflict in Southeast Asia. All were intimate with war on a level
that will probably be denied future generations. That closeness lead to their deaths
one and all. Many photographs in the book were from their very last rolls of
film. Seldom do I take camera in hand without thinking of those who died so that we
can forever remember.Henri Huet is one of these photographers and perhaps my favorite. From his bio in the book: "Son of a French father and a Vietnamese mother, Henri Huet moved with his family from Da Lat to France when he was five years old. Educated in Brittany, at Saint-Malo, and at an art school in Rennes, Huet started out as a painter, then went into the army, which sent him to study photography. At twenty-two, Huet returned to Vietnam as a French combat photographer and stayed on after his discharge, working as a civilian photographer for the French and American governments and then for UPI. He switched to AP in 1965." "Constantly In the field, he had numerous close calls. Wounded twice, Huet was transferred to Tokyo, but he was restless and missed the action, so he asked to return to Vietnam. In 1967, he won the Overseas Press Club's Robert Capa Award for Still Photography Requiring Exceptional Courage and Enterprise. Among his peers Huet was respected for his bravery, dignity and skill, and he was loved for his kindness and sense of humor. Huet, Larry Burrows of Life magazine, UPI's Kent Potter, and Keizaburo Shimamoto, who was working for Newsweek, were killed when the South Vietnamese helicopter they were riding in was shot down over the Ho Chi Minh Trail in Laos." Go here to view a couple of his most striking photographs or use the link at the bottom of this page. Sadly, this book is now out of print, but can be found at Amazon or Ebay once in a while .
"Dear Sir, for twenty-two years I have carried your picture in my wallet. I was only eighteen years old that day we faced one another on that trail in Chu Lai, Vietnam. Why you didn't take my life I'll never know. You stared at me so long, armed with your AK-47, and yet you did not fire." "Forgive Me for taking your life .... I was reacting just the way I was trained ..... to kill VC. So many times over the years I have stared at your picture and your daughter, I suspect. Each time my heart and guts would burn with the pain of guilt. I have two daughters myself now ...... I perceive you as a brave soldier defending his homeland. Above all else, I can now respect the importance that this life held for you. I suppose that is why I am able to be here today ..... it is time for me to continue the life process and release my pain and guilt. Forgive me, Sir." If Photography is important to you as a medium for historical documentation, social commentary and fine art, then you should add one or both of these volumes to your bookshelf. |
Copyright 1997 - 2007 Victorian House Photography ..... Ogden, Utah |
The Second Book is titled "Offerings
At The Wall" from Turner Publishing Company. Through well
conceived and vividly rendered photography, some of the many artifacts that have been left
at The Wall and that are now part of the Vietnam Veterans Memorial Collection are
touchingly displayed in an unforgettable book. This photo to the left was left at
The Wall along with a short explanation that I quote from the book: