Senior Member Join Date: Jun 2009 Location: Sherman Texas Original Poster | I had no idea ther'd be THIS much interest!!!
You guys are making me feel like some kind of hero here! I really figured this thread would die out after a coupla days, but the questions keep coming. Maybe I should have a speaking engagement (ha).
Anyway, I'll try to answer some questions and comments in this one.
I'm gonna' try to answer the questions and comments in the order they were posted, so bear with me here.
Keep in mind that MY experience is just that ... MINE! Others may have been different. 1. How free of a hand w/topics did we have w/topics when not on special assignment. Absolute and Total! Often, when my team left our main base, our 1st Shirt had no idea where we were or when we'd be back. We took great advantage of that fact and would sometimes go to the beach and crash for a few days if there wasn't much happening of consequence.
2. We took all the film back to our Division Base at An Khe. Our unit had a full lab and studio set up there. We'd develop and print some of our own stuff. Other times, we simply turned it in and let the "Lab Rats" do it. The lab was really rudimentary by almost any standard you can imagine, be we got the work done. 3. How many of your photos were published? LOTS. I've seen some of my work in bookstores many times. In every case that I'm aware of they are all credited "US Army Photograph". 4. How did you change film? Very carefully! This question pretty much stumped me because you can load a new roll of film in direct sunlight (not recommended), but it will work fine. 5. How often were we embedded with a unit or did we work as a separate entity? ALWAYS .... at least when we were in the field. When we got on scene we were right there with the Grunts. Slept with em', ate with em', cried and some men died with em'. The only caveat to it was that we were not under direct control of the local commander (in MOST cases). I did a couple of operations with Special Forces A Teams, and they made it very clear that the Team Leader was in control. Bear in mind that (on MY photo team at least), we voluntarilly helped with guarding prisoners, rounding up prisoners, and standing guard when on a night position. Understand that I did this for my own benefit as well as those around me. To me it was vital that we experienced the SAME thing as the average Grunt.
6. One of the earlier posters said that another photographer told him "I was no different than any other soldier, except I carried a camera instead of a rifle". ABSOLUTELY TRUE!!!!! In my case however, I carried both (that was my decision). There are times under fire when you've shot all the pictures that can be shot from then and there, and you damned sure aren't going to stand up and move to another location looking for another picture to grab. In those cases, I was just another rifle. I might add that the Grunts had a great deal of respect for me for that. To me, it was just "another day on the job". Hell, the guys on my photo team thought I was a bonafide "NUTCASE". I had a real propensity to VOLUNTEER for jobs the other photo teams didn't want. We'd go on night recon patrols and you can't take pictures in the dark (flash ...I don't think so!). Again, I did this to obtain and keet the respect of the Grunts we were photographing, By the time I left country, I was reputed to have made more combat air assaults (over 100) than any of the other photographers and more than most infantrymen. 9. Do you plan on scanning your photos for archival...: Yeah, if I can locate all of them! I have a friend that does that for a living and he told me he'd do me a favor, cause' were talking about hundreds and hundreds of images. Hell, I have B/W negs (mostly 2-1/4 sauare) that have never even been contact printed. I simply developed them and sent them home. 10. What was most difficult, technical problems w/equipt limitations,emotional toll of death, etc. This one's a tough question, and I'm not sure what the answer is. It's now 40 odd years after the fact, but I THINK the technical aspect was probably the hardest. Keeping lenses and equipment clean and dry was an unending chore. Additionally, just trying to focus the camera when you're sweating all over the viewfinder ... those are things that you don't normally contend with. Dealing with the emotional issues is a WHOLE OTHER STORY! It's impossible for me to even make a statement about that you'd even understand. Basically, the grind, the hunger, thirst and seeing people injured and killed eventually becomes "a part of the job". That by the way, is the CAUSE for Post Traumatic Combat Stress! Vietnam veterans in general have a saying, "If I have to explain it, you wouldn't understand it anyway"! I certainly don't mean to be discourteous with the response above, I just don't know how to verbalize it. 11. Were there scenes or people who didn't want us to shoot photographs? With the GI's I don't remember any of them not wanting us to take their picture. Most of the time they were kinda "pumped up" when we'd take shot of them. Other times they'd ignore the fact that we were even there (that was my preference). The Vietnamese people on the other hand were often very shy and didn't want you to take their picture....I did it anyway. There were a few occassions that we would be restricted from photographing certain things, but it was usually for operational security or the scene or activity was of a classified nature, in which case we most certainly DID NOT shoot!
An finally, someone asked if there were any "tricks" we used to take photos or keep equipment safe. I'll give this one some more thought to see if I can remember some stuff. One thing that comes immediately to mind is that we used LOTS of plastic bags. We wrapped film, cigarettes, matches in those to keep them dry. The other thing was that if you wanted to keep ANYTHING dry, you didn't put it in a shirt pocket because profuse sweating will get to it. Most of the photographers had acquired either a Medics bag, Map case, or extra ammo pouches to carry stuff in. We'd wrap our film and put it in there so we could get to it fairly easily, but still keep it dry. As far as the mechanics of photography we used hyperfocal distance a LOT (google that phrase) and we'd also use the f-16 rule (another google search). As you moved along, you'd simply change shutter speeds or f stops to accomodate the everchanging light patterns. The Spotmatics were a great help there as you had fairly accurate metering built into the camera. With my Leica however, it was totally different story, I just had to stay on top of the situation and do the best I could.
Enough for now, I'll be back later. Again, thanks so much for your interest. I spent the better part of 30 years ignoring, avoiding and occasionally denying the fact that I'd been to Vietnam because of the way we were treating upon return to the States. I've come full circle now, and decided that I'm PROUD of what I did and will share my experience with anyone who is interested.
Thanks again! I'll post again soon!
Bob Hillerby
Combat Photographer
B 1/9th Cav, 1st Cavalry Division (Airmobile)
RVN 1966-1967
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