[hillerby]

Wow, just found this thread and went through it from page 1.

Amazing photos and stories, thanks a lot for sharing!

Yeah, the thing I thought was REALLY great was that they scanned all of the original caption sheets that were turned in with the photos. We (photographers) had to hand write each one, but I guess someone in the records section typed all that stuff up when the prints were finally made.

[TomK]

Bob -
Thanks for the URL and the tips on navigation.
I printed it out and will share it with a couple of veterans that I will be seeing at a
friend's house this Sunday for a Memorial Day cookout.
I am sure they will be very interested.
(1 Army Vietnam vet, 1 WW2 Army vet, 1 USAF post Korean War vet)
Also will share via e-mail with 3 or 4 other Viet vets friend of mine.
THANKS AGAIN for your quick reply!

[hillerby]

I thought I'd post a few pictures this afternoon. I ran across these a few days ago, along with others that I'll be scanning later. Again, there's nothing really outstanding about any of this group ..... "just stuff that seems to job my memory when I look at them.
I should apologize if I've posted some of these before, but between what I've put up in this forum and stuff on my Facebook page, it's hard to keep track of what I've done and where.

1. Mopic: This is quick shot I got of one of our Motion Picture (Mopic) photographers. This was taken on my very first "Combat" mission with the 1st Infantry Division during Operation Cedar Falls/Junction City. We were both "newbies" and it was our first trip to the "killing fields".
Now those Mopic guys had a real load to carry. In addition to their normal field gear, they had that damned camera that large, cumbersome, and heavy. I've been told this camera is an Eyemo, made by Bell & Howell and used during WWII. I don know it used 35mm film and they loaded 100ft spools. At 28 frames/second, they went through a lot of film. Ya' load enough of those 100 ft cans of film and you've got yourself a load.

2. Loading Magazines: The Cav troop I was attached to for the last half of my tour had to be ready to "Saddle Up & Ride" on very short notice due to our primary mission of scouting and recon. As a result, we all made sure that we were "cocked, locked, and ready to ride" cuz' we had to be airborne in under 5 minutes. Didn't matter if you were sleeping, eating, taking a dump ........ you had to be on that bird when the pilot started "pulling pitch". The guy in this shot is loading magazines for his rifle, and you might notice he's got three "frags" hangin' from his web belt. He's no doubt got more ready somewhere else. As photographers, we'd always make sure we had a "full roll" of film loaded in our cameras. If we got back and had taken only a partial roll, we'd rewind and reload.

3. Fire for Effect: The HE rounds from a 105mm howitzer had a very debilitating effect on the enemy (or anyone else that might be in the impact area). This is one of the shots, I may have already posted, not sure about that. Anyhow, this is a New Zeland Battery that would appear to be firing either H&I or zeroing onto pre-planned targets. "How would ya' know that", you ask? Well, I can see that a couple of the crew are (as my Kiwi friends would say) sittin' on their arses! Had they been giving supporting fire, it'd be "all hands on deck"

I'm gonna' try and get these other shots scanned over the weekend and get them up as soon as time allows.

As a footnote, I've found out that Texas Tech University, has a "Center for Vietnam Studies". It's sort of like the National Archives site. They've got tons of documents, photos, motion picture footage, etc. I've been told that they are interested in obtaining my film to be digitized (professionally) and put in their archives for distribution and viewing. I'll be checkin' into that next week.

[NKK]

Thank you for keeping this thread alive - it really adds to pictures with your comments

It's allso really interesting to hear about your discoveries with all the places that they are collecting pictures and digitizing them - how do you feel about all this re-living the stories?

[hillerby]

Thank you for keeping this thread alive - it really adds to pictures with your comments

It's allso really interesting to hear about your discoveries with all the places that they are collecting pictures and digitizing them - how do you feel about all this re-living the stories?

Actually, when I started this thread (upon someone's request), I had some very mixed emotions. But when I started to realize the overwhelming acceptance and approval of what I was posting, it became very theraputic for me.
Living with post traumatic combat stress for over 40 years has made life very difficult on many, many levels. Being able to communicate w/this group without fear of any sort of ridicule has been a way for me to put some things into perspective. Being a Combat Photographer was the high point of my dull life.
Reliving some of those events through this forum and with some of my Facebook friends has made me realize how very important my job really was in the long term. At the time, I thought it was an incredible waste of time, resources and manpower. I was young and dumb back then. I am now beginning to recognize the significant historical importance of what we did.
I doubt that we'll ever see another war that was as widely photographed as Vietnam. If ya' stop and think about it, all of the major print media was doing very well and had correspondents in country. Publications like Time, Life, Newsweek, US News, etc. all had very high circulation rates and used a lot of photographs. Life magazine is now defunct, and all the others have have all but died away. So, in short, I'm very glad that I was asked to start this thread. The fact that it is so highly viewed and has such a high number of replies, etc. is one of the most humbling experiences I've ever had.
Gotta' get outta here for now, but will put up some more pictures as soon as I can get them scanned.

[hillerby]

I took a quick shot of a few of the items I managed to locate that I brought back from Nam'. The shot here show the Helmet w/Camo Cover, Dog Tags, Camera and Lens and a shirt.
If you look closely, you can see some of the graffiti on the side of the helmet and along the band, near the front are hash marks I made for every individual Air Assault mission I flew. You can't see them all cuz' they wrap around to the other side of the helmet. When I got to 100, I says to myself, "whats the point" and quit counting.
The shirt shows my 69th Signal Bn. patch and the "Combat Photographer" tab above it. The tab was one of many "unauthorzed" insignia that was used in Vietnam. We were proud that we were Combat Photographers, as opposed to the PIO Remf's that worked throughout Vietnam.
The camera is a Miranda G (poor man's Nikon) that I'd purchased to replace a Praktica Mat that I essentially killed while over there. It survived the war with little more than lot's of wear and tear (like myself), and is still operable today. It has a 135mm (pre-set) Soligor, f 3.5 Lens. Beside it lays a 35mm Auto Miranda lens. The 35mm got significantly more use and was the lens of choice on most occasions.
I've got some other stuff that I'd like to shoot and post here, perhaps over the course of the next coupla' days I can get that accomplished.

[NKK]

So, in short, I'm very glad that I was asked to start this thread. The fact that it is so highly viewed and has such a high number of replies, etc. is one of the most humbling experiences I've ever had.

I'm happy to hear that, and thank you for the reply

[hillerby]

I found this document the other day and thought I'd post it today. I spent 11 months and 23 days in RVN as a Combat Photographer, made in excess of 100 Combat Air Assaults, and this document is what I got!
Not really complainin', I volunteered for most of those missions! I just think now, that it's ironic. The life of a soldier is one of sacrifice, danger, and devotion to your comrades. The soldier (marine, airman, sailor, etc.) doesn't do the job with the expectation of being rewarded, nor thanked .... that's a soldier's lot in life.
The other reason for posting today is to let ya'll know that I've finally located more of the photos, that I've been unable to find for so long!
More important however, is that I've recently made contact w/3 other men who were in my unit at the same time. A couple of them attended photo school with me at Ft. Monmouth, NJ.
Long story short .............. we've got TONS of pictures located and being scanned as I type this message! As long as there's interest in this thread, it'll remain online as long as we can hold up. Even though not all the photos are mine, I can provide similar comment as I've always done in the past.
If, and when, ya'll get tired of the thread we can retire it. For the present however, we've got resources to keep it going for a while.
The other thing is that we're workin' on a book/exhibit/video presentation/traveling roadshow (if we can get invites). Our project is going to be something that's never been done before, as we are able to provide some perspectives and context that's not been put together previously.
Thanks again, for all your kind response and interest.
I'll be on again soon.

[NKK]

wow... that's amazing, and very personal with the letter.
Have the guys from your unit seen this thread? And if they have, how did they respond?

Thank you again for sharing, and don't doubt for a second that we want you to keep posting

[Frogfish]

Still reading and still enjoying your narrative and shots Bob !

And a lovely Appreciation Letter too. I'm sure your family will be proud of that - you should have it framed & hung.

[Howdy]

Thank you again for sharing, and don't doubt for a second that we want you to keep posting

I second that! Please do post more photos and stories!!!

[hillerby]

wow... that's amazing, and very personal with the letter.
Have the guys from your unit seen this thread? And if they have, how did they respond?

Thank you again for sharing, and don't doubt for a second that we want you to keep posting

I just made contact (after 45 yrs) with a guy who was a "Lab Rat" that was in my unit and he's just started reading thru this thread. His only comment was WOW!
He and I were at Photo School together and then in VN together (for a few months), then we were both shipped out to different detachments. He ended up at Cam Rahn Bay and I went to An Khe.
We are currently working feverishly to put together a book/video/exhibit/travelling "sideshow" of some sort. We're not in it so much for the money (likely won't be much). We're really doing it for ourselves, so that there will be something to leave the grandkids and posterity. There are actually 3 or 4 of us from that unit that are collaborating on this, so we've got (literally) TONS of photos, slides, etc.
He really wants to do a "travelling" type exhibit/"roadshow" and since I have quite a bit of experience in Public Speaking, we'll be putting something together to put before a "live audience", if we can find one.

[ChipB]

I just made contact (after 45 yrs) with a guy who was a "Lab Rat" that was in my unit and he's just started reading thru this thread. His only comment was WOW!
He and I were at Photo School together and then in VN together (for a few months), then we were both shipped out to different detachments. He ended up at Cam Rahn Bay and I went to An Khe.
We are currently working feverishly to put together a book/video/exhibit/travelling "sideshow" of some sort. We're not in it so much for the money (likely won't be much). We're really doing it for ourselves, so that there will be something to leave the grandkids and posterity. There are actually 3 or 4 of us from that unit that are collaborating on this, so we've got (literally) TONS of photos, slides, etc.
He really wants to do a "travelling" type exhibit/"roadshow" and since I have quite a bit of experience in Public Speaking, we'll be putting something together to put before a "live audience", if we can find one.

Fantastic you've made contact with some of your peers!! And, a photo/audio show sounds great. Really looking forward to meeting you in person at an "event"!!

You've got a huge following right here at PF - make sure you let us know when/where y'all are going to be - we'll be there!!

[markdesmarais]

If you can't get the road show going, you could always do a nice HD documentary . . . I'd watch it!

[hillerby]

Ya'll are just too much! I still find it impossible to believe the ongoing interest in this thread!
At any rate, I'll be talkin' to Dan (the "Lab Rat") in about an hour. We're gonna' start trying to get our thoughts together to figure out how we put this project into a reality.
Right now, we've about decided (3 or 4 of us) that we'll try to get a DVD and Book prepared first. I'm thinkin' we'll use that as something to "test the water". If it flies, we'll start working on our "Travelling Freakshow".
I'll certainly keep this loyal and active group posted on our progress and let ya'll know what's going on.
As to pictures, I recently found out where one of the "lost boxes" of slides, negs, etc. are ..... I should have them in hand within a couple of weeks. It turns out that my oldest son had them in a closet at his home in Oklahoma. Thank GOD for small favors ..... if they'd been down here, they very likely would have been lost during our flood!
Anyhow, thanks to all for your support and I'll be back on here soon. Please don't drop "off my radar", this thread has been a real "morale booster" for me and I definately appreciate everyone's comments and support.
Over and OUT