RAAP—060
WAR PHOTOGRAPHY OF THE VIETNAMESE
In 1972, activists gathered in the Nam Can forest, wearing masks to protect their identities from capture and interrogation. These photographs provide a rare glimpse into the Vietnam War resistance, often overlooked by Western coverage.
Vietnamese photographers such as Võ An Khánh, Mai Nam, Lam Tan Tai, and Nguyen Dinh Uu documented the conflict under difficult conditions. They developed film using tea saucers and stream water in darkness and sometimes made flashbulbs from rifle cartridge gunpowder. They faced constant danger from gunfire, bombing, illness, and starvation along the Ho Chi Minh Trail, with many losing their lives.
Some photographers focused on historical record, while others used photography as a weapon in the propaganda war. Võ An Khánh was unable to send many images to Hanoi but exhibited them locally in the mangrove swamps of the Mekong Delta to encourage resistance fighters and communities. Films and negatives were often smuggled out at great risk, and even those that never reached the North helped sustain morale and unity.
Their photographs reveal not only combat but also the daily realities, hardships, and losses faced by fighters and civilians. These images provide essential documentary evidence and contribute to both the historical record and the ideological struggle of the war.
Vietnamese photographers such as Võ An Khánh, Mai Nam, Lam Tan Tai, and Nguyen Dinh Uu documented the conflict under difficult conditions. They developed film using tea saucers and stream water in darkness and sometimes made flashbulbs from rifle cartridge gunpowder. They faced constant danger from gunfire, bombing, illness, and starvation along the Ho Chi Minh Trail, with many losing their lives.
Some photographers focused on historical record, while others used photography as a weapon in the propaganda war. Võ An Khánh was unable to send many images to Hanoi but exhibited them locally in the mangrove swamps of the Mekong Delta to encourage resistance fighters and communities. Films and negatives were often smuggled out at great risk, and even those that never reached the North helped sustain morale and unity.
Their photographs reveal not only combat but also the daily realities, hardships, and losses faced by fighters and civilians. These images provide essential documentary evidence and contribute to both the historical record and the ideological struggle of the war.