Although
the war in Vietnam was the most photographed in history, there is a
human side of the conflict that the camera has largely overlooked. It
is that of young men coming of age on the battlefield in the midst of
the emotional confusion surrounding America's longest and most
controversial war. My photos and stories are an effort to shed some
light on that experience. Almost none are of the "blood and guts"
variety so often associated with the Vietnam War. They chronicle the
day-to-day events--some inspirational, some hilarious, some tragic,
some heartbreaking--that changed so many a youthful idealist into a
disillusioned outcast.
The
U.S. serviceman in Vietnam dealt with the same stresses that his father
and grandfather endured before him in their wars: paralyzing fear,
loneliness, animalistic living conditions and the constant exposure to
death and needless brutality. Unlike the wars of his father and
grandfather that rallied unprecedented levels of patriotic support at
home, the war in Vietnam became virulently unpopular with the American
public, dividing it more deeply than anytime since the Civil War.
Although the 58,132 Americans killed in Vietnam is considered low by
the standards of earlier wars, few Vietnam vets escaped the crossfire
from warring factions of American society. Society's disgust with the
war was, more often than not, directed at the men in uniform. The
Vietnam vet was the first American serviceman to return home not to a
hero's welcome, but to harassment, ridicule and open hostility.
This
was not a war that America's future was dependant upon winning. To
those doing the fighting, and many back home, its purpose became more
and more elusive. Was the war in Vietnam nothing more than the
machinations of the "military industrial establishment" President
Eisenhower had warned about only a few years earlier in his farewell
speech? The war lacked any clear-cut goals. Territory and positions
would be taken at great cost and loss of life, only to be abandoned
months, weeks and, in some cases, just days later. Washington, fearful
of provoking the Russians and Chinese, ordered Generals to halt bombing
missions just as they were about to achieve their goals. Numerous other
restricted rules of engagement seriously hampered military commanders
in the field. To ease the financial impact of the war on the American
taxpayer, captains of industry were brought in to run the military in a
more business-like and cost effective manner. Unfortunately, they often
failed to heed the advice of seasoned military leaders and made
decisions that proved very costly on the battlefield.
Junior
officers and enlisted men increasingly felt like pawns in a deadly game
of questionable purpose, with their safety and well being at best,
secondary. Furthermore, it soon became apparent that the Vietnamese
soldiers they had come to assist were cowardly and incompetent and the
government they were sent to support, hopelessly corrupt. The American
public back home began to regard them as "baby killers" and the
realization that even their own government would rather sacrifice their
lives than provoke the Russians left many servicemen in Vietnam feeling
betrayed and abandoned. The only ones they felt they could still trust
were those around them. It is a real tribute to the character of the
Soldiers, Sailors, Airmen and Marines who fought in Vietnam that, out
of profound friendship, so many continued to risk their lives to
protect the lives of their fellow servicemen even though most felt the
war was useless, being fought incorrectly and unwinable.
Steven
Curtis
