Senior Member Join Date: Jun 2009 Location: Sherman Texas Original Poster | Haunting Ghosts from the past!!!!
I am this morning going to post only a single photo. I am still in a "state of SHOCK" regarding events that occurred yesterday at approx. 17:15 hrs. (that's 5:15 pm civilian time).
I'll apologize up front because this will likely be a rather LONG read, but I've got to get this off my chest!
First, a little background. I live and work in a medium sized rural area (Sherman Texas) that lies approx. 75 miles north of Dallas. Sherman is a small country town that has grown over the years to a small city.
In February of this year, the local newspaper got hold of the fact that I've been a Combat Photographer and wanted to "do a piece on me" and asked if they could interview me. I rather reluctantly agreed and told them I didn't really think that what I did was "all that important in the overall scheme of things", but I'd do it. OK, so the article is published (FULL PAGE w/a few photographs that I'd taken while there. Now that sets the stage for what took place yesterday (25 July 09').
Like I said, it's 5:15, and I'm trying to get out of our print/photography shop on a Friday afternoon. Phone rings, I look at the "caller ID screen" and it indicates "unknown caller". My initial reaction is to let the voice mail pick it up, but I thought; business has been terribly slow and I need the work, so I answer. "Hillerby Printing, this is Bob; how may I help you?" The female voice on the other end very hesitantly says, "I NEED to speak w/Bob Hillerby. I patiently responded, "this IS Bob, how may I help you?" She then asks if I'm the SAME Mr. Hillerby about whom the newspaper article on the Vietnam War was written?" "Yes maam, that was about me, I replied."
She then starts to try and describe a particular photograph that appeared as part of this same article. "Yes maam", I think I know the shot you're referring to." "You aren't going to believe this", she replied, but there's a picture of my brother in that shot. She then very emotionally describes that he's the one in the center of the three guys in the photo and how he'd died a couple of years ago.
"Do you have a copy of that picture", she asked. Yes maam, I TOOK the picture, I have the original here," I responded.
She then told me that they had almost no pictures of this brother and wanted to know If I'd make her a copy. I of course, told her I'd be happy to do so.
During the conversation, I explained that the shot had been made at a 1st Infantry Division Field Hospital at Lai Khe. She said he'd been hospitalized on 3 different occasions while in Vietnam and mentioned he was in the Marine Corps. I told her there must be some mistake, that the three men in this shot were all US Army Personell at a US Army Field Hospital. She insists that she'd recognize her brother in a photograph and I responded that I certainly didn't doubt that she would.
The fact that her brother was in the Marines and the men pictured are clearly wearing Army uniforms and insignia (which I can easily recognize on the original slide) presents a dillema in my mind becasue Lai Khe was well south of the nearest Marine Corps A.O. Then again, the Marines could have had him evacuated to the nearest big hospital facility for treatment .... don't know! At any rate the woman is supposed to come in a couple of weeks at which time I'll have her look at the prints I've made to see if she can positively identify this man as her brother. At this point, this event will haunt me for a few days.
I mean, what are the odds that something like this could happen in a small community like this? I mean, Hell if every single photograph I took over there were published and distributed in New York, what are the odds someone would call and say, "You've got a picture of my brother, husband, father, ... whatever? I'd have to say this is truly a "One in a million experience", and has given me pause to say the least.
In closing, I'd like to say that I've spent over 40 years thinking that my whole tour in Nam' was rather routine and "nothing really special". In some ways, I've always felt that I didn't accomplish "anything special" during my tour, when there were so many guys who displayed courage and incredible bravery during their time there. I was never involved in any of the large battles of Vietnam only because I wasn't there! The Battle of the Ia Drang Valley (before I got there), Hamburger Hill, Battle of Hue City, Tet Offensive of 68' (all occured after I'd returned home.) Of course, there were'nt very many battle of that magnitude. Most of the actions stopped almost as suddenly as they began and lasted no more than a few minutes of hour at most. In my case, when we came into an ambush we'd secure out position as best we could and call in the Gunbirds which would supress enemy fire to the point that we could maneuver on them and end the fight as quickly as possible. The enemy (when I was there) made no attempt to engage us in force because an Air Cav unit has too many assets availbe to them immediately. The only time they'd try to prolong the fight was IF they thought they could wipe us out immediately and most of the time they "thought wrong" because of our aggression in the fight and the air assets we bring to bear.
My experience simply proves my theory that all of the great war photographs are, for the most part a matter of chance, not design. In almost every case I can think of, the most acclaimed war photos were a matter of the photographer being in the right place at the right time.
Again, I have to apologize for this rather long read. I just had to get this strange event off my chest so I can try to figure it all out. All in all, it was just a really bizarre feeling when that woman told me I had a photograph of her brother (now deceased) that was taken over 40 years ago!
In closing, I'll let ya'll know that I've located another 40 or 50 shots that I'll be trying to get scanned and posted as early as possible.
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Originally posted by hillerby 
Post #1 by hillerby
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