The message area of the Vietnam Portfolio has been archived off-site. We extend sincere thanks to everyone who contributed messages during the years of interactive operation.
When I went to Vietnam in June of 1969, I was assigned to the 221st Signal Company (Southeast Asia Pictorial Agency) as a First Lieutenant in charge of a photo detachment. Initially, I was stationed at the sprawling military base in Long Binh. I was later stationed in Pleiku and Saigon.
In addition to pictures taken for the government, I took many
more of the Vietnamese civilians, particularly children--probably
over 1500 images. Recently, I've been reviewing the bulk of this
portfolio in an attempt to determine their relevance to the culture
and history of the period. My hope is to preserve these photos
as documentary material, recording this era in Vietnam's history
on CD-ROM in the form of a self-guided multimedia presentation.
The theme underlying the portfolio is the effect of the war upon
the Vietnamese people and how the war uprooted their lives.
As a photo detachment supervisor in Pleiku (Central Highlands),
I was in charge of combat photographers, lab technicians, audio/visual
and support personnel. Later in my tour of duty, I was made officer-in-charge
of a motion picture news team working for the U.S. Military Command
Public Information Headquarters in Saigon and would cover news
features for the Department of Defense.
Both
positions gave me the opportunity to travel freely and extensively
throughout Vietnam. Leaving behind the confines of the military
bases at Pleiku and Long Binh, I was able to observe and record
much of the civilian culture--living conditions, markets, farms,
homes, shrines, and people. I frequently visited isolated areas
where American advisors were working with Montagnard tribesmen
who still practiced ancient farming and crafts.
The
open markets of Saigon, Pleiku, and Da Nang were a fertile source
of subject matter and provided the opportunity to explore the
character of everyday existence in war-torn Vietnam. Returning
to my photo detachment laboratory in Pleiku I would work
into the night printing and processing the days photographs. Much
of my work in Vietnam--those photos which documented the war itself--were
forwarded to Washington for archival retention in the Library
of Congress as historical record. My personal collection of photographs,
however, which focused on the Vietnamese people and their culture
was never archived or officially preserved. It is this part of
my work that I believe may have cultural and historical significance
for the Vietnamese people. I wish to amplify, explore and preserve
these photos utilizing the new medium of digital photography which
has the potential to make this work more accessible to a broader
audience both in this country and Vietnam. As part of the multimedia
preservation of this portfolio I wish to collect the spoken commentary
of persons living through this period, as well as Vietnamese scholars,
to complement and elucidate the photographs. Such a voice over
narration will provide additional insights into the impact of
the war on the civilian population.
Currently, I am in contact with Vietnamese scholars in this country
who may be able to lead me to documentary materials (both literary
and spoken) that could be used for this purpose. I would also
like to include personal reminiscences from people who have lived
through the war years. Please take a look at these photographs
and, if you like, add your comments to the responses left by others.
If you can place a particular photograph into a broader context
relating it to the social or cultural realities of this time,
please include any such comments (or ramblings).
The pictures are grouped by category, i.e.,
Children /
Montagnard Tribesmen /
Military / Vietnamese People /
Protest, et cetera/
Shrines. Thank you
for your help.
Text and photography by E. Kenneth Hoffman ( hoffmake@shu.edu).
Visit Seton Hall University www.shu.edu