84B20
84B20
84B20 is a photographic journal that documents an art student’s induction into the U.S. Army. Short stories and observations accompany photographs of Vietnamese civilians and U.S. infantry units in Vietnam.
84B20 is military terminology for U.S. Army photographer, but the text and photographs reveal a personal view of South Vietnam during 1970-1971.
By late 1970, when I arrived in Vietnam, the character of the war had changed. The catalyst had been the Tet offensive of 1968, which practically decimated the Viet Cong, but galvanized American opposition. Now there were bigger and better organized demonstrations in the US and many of those demonstrators were being drafted and sent to Vietnam. Some of them showed up with bad attitudes and a penchant for drugs, which were available in surplus.
US involvement was gradually winding down and one of the most noticeable changes was that US troops went into the field in smaller numbers. Most enemy contact amounted to ambushes and firefights. It was a waiting game for soldiers on both sides of the conflict so the firefights were often the result of chance encounters and the ambushes tended to be automatic, (rig a trail with claymores and collect the bodies in the morning).
US involvement was gradually winding down and one of the most noticeable changes was that US troops went into the field in smaller numbers. Most enemy contact amounted to ambushes and firefights. It was a waiting game for soldiers on both sides of the conflict so the firefights were often the result of chance encounters and the ambushes tended to be automatic, (rig a trail with claymores and collect the bodies in the morning).
Children were a favorite photographic subject. Little girls were usually shy, but the boys, especially in a group, liked to ham it up for the camera. They all wanted candy and they all seemed to think arm hair was funny.
Kids from the country and smaller villages tended to be more timid and wary of foreign soldiers. Many of the kids from Saigon’s hub were downright aggressive. Some were orphans and no doubt a fair share had gravitated to the city because of the war. They begged and picked pockets just to get by. For those kids, charm became a tool for existence and childish exuberance faded as life became more difficult.
