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progressoid

(49,827 posts)
Thu Mar 28, 2013, 06:58 PM Mar 2013

A soldier's eye: rediscovered pictures from Vietnam

Charlie Haughey was drafted into the US Army in October of 1967. He was 24, and had been in college in Michigan before running out of money and quitting school to work in a sheet metal factory. The draft notice meant that he was to serve a tour of duty in Vietnam, designated a rifleman, the basic field position in the Army. After 63 days in Vietnam, he was made a photographer, shooting photographs for the Army and US newspapers, with these instructions from the Colonel: “You are not a combat photographer. This is a morale operation. If I see pictures of my guys in papers, doing their jobs with honor, then you can do what you like in Vietnam.”

He shot nearly 2,000 images between March 1968 and May 1969 before taking the negatives home. And there they sat, out of sight, but not out of mind, for 45 years, until a chance meeting brought them out of dormancy and into a digital scanner. At first, it was very difficult for Haughey to view the images and talk about them, especially not knowing the fates of many of the subjects of his photos. When the digitization hit 1,700 negative scans, Haughey put them on a slideshow and viewed them all at once, and didn’t sleep for three days after. He’s slowly getting better at dealing with the emotional impact of seeing the images for the first time in decades.

A team of volunteers has worked with Haughey to plan a 28-image show, titled A Weather Walked In, which opens April 5th in the ADX art gallery in Portland, Oregon. The difficulty of keeping notes in a war zone along with the passage of decades has faded the details behind many of the images, and the captions reflect this fact, with many shots of unknown people in forgotten locations at unspecified times. It is hoped that publication of the pictures can yield more information. More images from the collection will be released as the project progresses. You can follow the progress on facebook and Tumblr. Thanks to Chieu Hoi project volunteer Kris Regentin for preparing much of this introduction and the accompanying captions. -

See more at: http://www.boston.com/bigpicture/2013/03/a_soldiers_eye_rediscovered_pi.html#sthash.AC9s9Kl5.dpuf


https://www.facebook.com/chieuhoiphoto

http://www.flickr.com/photos/chieuhoi/sets/72157632817930862/

http://chieu-hoi.tumblr.com/about




Bowed head in truck: Soldier and location unidentified. Charlie's first response to this photo: "It was not uncommon to find anyone with a head bowed for a moment, more often when we were heading out than when we were coming back. Interesting that he has a flak jacket, he's taking precautions on both sides of the fence. M16, a steel pot, a flak jacket, and a prayer."



U.S. soldiers patrol through a ghostly, defoliated rubber tree plantation. Date and location unknown.



A specially adapted armored personnel carrier, known as a flame track, clears ambush positions on the side of a supply route road. Names, date, and location unknown



An unidentified soldier pauses for a cigarette. Name, date, and location unknown



Soldiers board a Chinook. Names, date, and location unknown



Haughey poses with camera and light meter. Location and date unknown

11 replies = new reply since forum marked as read
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A soldier's eye: rediscovered pictures from Vietnam (Original Post) progressoid Mar 2013 OP
Wow he has an incredible talent for getting perfect shots Blue_Tires Mar 2013 #1
Great photos. demosincebirth Mar 2013 #2
The real lousy treatment libdude Mar 2013 #6
Wonderful post. Thank you. Wilms Mar 2013 #3
"Chieu Hoi" DollarBillHines Mar 2013 #4
Fantastic stuff. DemoTex Mar 2013 #5
Having glimpsed the other shots I've got to ask: Blue_Tires Mar 2013 #7
Maybe the stuff he saw through his lens in Vietnam justiceischeap Mar 2013 #8
I thought about that, too Blue_Tires Mar 2013 #9
Maybe he made great cabinets too? progressoid Mar 2013 #10
K&R! burrowowl Mar 2013 #11

Blue_Tires

(55,445 posts)
1. Wow he has an incredible talent for getting perfect shots
Thu Mar 28, 2013, 07:19 PM
Mar 2013

I'm sure once these get out into the public, some people in the know can fill in the details...

But is more detail even needed? These shots tell their own story...

libdude

(136 posts)
6. The real lousy treatment
Thu Mar 28, 2013, 09:59 PM
Mar 2013

was being drafted with no way out. It was and is a shitty way to to screw over so many young men over some bullshit political theory. The basis for my disdain for Mitt Romney is his absolute hypocrisy on avoiding the draft using his religion and then protesting in favor of the war while safe in France.
Xin loi

DollarBillHines

(1,922 posts)
4. "Chieu Hoi"
Thu Mar 28, 2013, 08:56 PM
Mar 2013

"Give Up"

Yeah, that worked out real good. Watching some FNG running around yelling "Chieu Hoi!" was hilarious. They had actually been taught that it would be productive.

Thanks for the post.

DemoTex

(25,371 posts)
5. Fantastic stuff.
Thu Mar 28, 2013, 09:30 PM
Mar 2013

I found - now that my parents are both gone - all my letters to them from me in Viet Nam. Heavy, heavy shit my friends. I shit you not. It really clarifies the foggy timeline in my mind. Those letters will go to the wilderness lookout tower with me this summer for some serious writing.

Blue_Tires

(55,445 posts)
7. Having glimpsed the other shots I've got to ask:
Fri Mar 29, 2013, 09:16 AM
Mar 2013

this guy really made cabinets for all of his adult life?? Wow...He should have been at Time-Life, UPI, SI, Nat Geo, someplace, anyplace...His stuff is *that* great...

Blue_Tires

(55,445 posts)
9. I thought about that, too
Fri Mar 29, 2013, 11:04 AM
Mar 2013

I would completely understand if he never wanted pick up a camera after coming home, but it would have been a loss for all of us because there is a definite artistic value in his work...

progressoid

(49,827 posts)
10. Maybe he made great cabinets too?
Fri Mar 29, 2013, 02:36 PM
Mar 2013

I had a uncle (RIP) that wrote for Stars and Stripes in Vietnam. He had a hard time continuing his journalism back in the states. He was a little too acerbic for the local papers.

He ultimately found solace in wood carving.



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