Requiem: A Haunting Showcase of Vietnam War Photos

Brandy Miller
Staff WriterSnite Museum at the University of Notre Dame is currently showing the moving photo exhibit Requiem; showcasing the photographers who died in Vietnam and Indochina during the 10 year span of the Vietnam War. 135 photographers were killed and several remain missing.

Approximately 250 photos are shown in the exhibit with another 100 that were unable to be hung because of a lack of wall space. Eastman Kodak sponsors the showcase with Tim Page and Horst Faas assembling and preparing the framed and matted photos along with each placard describing the shot, year, and photographer.

When you enter the exhibit, facing the main entry is a wall with photos of each of the photographers who were killed doing their job. There are men and women and they are all from countries all around the globe. Next to the photo is a map that lists the names of all those killed. The exhibit then leads to the French involvement in the war and escalating to United States involvement with the last photos shown in the final days of the war.

It is a “haunting” look at the war that cost our country thousands of young men’s lives. A Mishawaka veteran, Scott Fields, who spent two years, two months, and twelve days in active duty, recently went to see the exhibit. He said he “was shocked at the professionalism of the journalists and was amazed at the expressions they caught on the soldier’s faces.”

“I know that exact expression; it’s not fear, not scared – it can’t be put into words… the look they caught in a 19 year-old kid’s eyes,” he added.  

The photos are mostly black and white with a few color shots scattered among them. They capture the last moments of soldiers lives, prisoners lives, and the destruction of the countryside of Vietnam due to the war efforts on both sides.

One particular photo is of a young Marine in Khe Sank that was taken by photographer Robert Ellison, who was killed in 1968. The photo is a color shot of the soldier wearing a helmet with a growth of beard on his young face. The look in his eyes makes him appear 20 years older than his obviously young age. According to Fields, “it’s something you had to experience to understand.”

There are many pictures of Vietnamese citizens that have an equally haunted look to their faces – men, women, and children alike.  

The exhibit continues throughout the month of February and closes on March 4.