[Leica] Viet nam 1968! :-)

[rsphotoimages at comcast.net (rsphoto's email)]

Ted:

As a young Marine Crops Sergeant I turned down a Navy School of  
Journalism 4-year degree and Lieutenant's bars instead of a 3d  
enlistment that would have placed me in Da Nang just before the Tet  
Offensive.

I suppose that, had I survived, they'd have kept their word and I'd be  
another dumb-ass 2nd looey.  Just what the world needs.

My buddies in Nam told me to stay the hell out and they'd kick my ass  
if they found out I'd reenlisted.  "it's not what you think it is,  
over here" they all said.

So Ted, maybe you have a brain in your head and maybe what you turned  
away from was what many thousands of others around the world turned  
away from.

There are many ways to demonstrate courage.  Only one of them involves  
warfare.

With respect,

Bob


On 25 Jun 2009, at 03:47, Ted Grant wrote:

> God dam it! 1968 and I ran away from it because I was scared  
> shitless! I've
> never run away from an assignment in my life but this one and it's  
> haunted
> to this day!
>
>
>
> My assignment was to photograph the Canadians who were volunteers  
> with the
> American forces serving there. Far more than anyone has any idea of  
> our
> people, young boys went simply because of the many stupid stories  
> they'd
> heard fromWW2 & Korea from their fathers or uncles or whomever.
>
>
>
> Me? Heck the year before, 1967, I was photographing the Israelis  
> charging
> across the desert in a lightening strike manner as though it were a  
> piece of
> cake. So going to Viet Nam the next year didn't seem like any kind of
> problem. It was!
>
>
>
> But now some 40 plus years later this has created a situation I'd  
> never have
> thought possible when it was thrown in my face regarding my attitude  
> to life
> situations of today! Yes I've finally admitted to running away,  
> right here
> and now, never before admitted!! You have no idea how it is to  
> finally do
> that after all these years living with the fact .. "I ran away when
> thousands of young boys couldn't?" Maybe being a father of 4 and 40  
> plus
> years of age may have had something to do with the decision.
>
>
>
> I'm sorry to lay this out in front of you as it has nothing to do with
> photography of today, but it has everything to do with photography  
> with
> Leica's of 1968 and me running away! No I didn't have to shoot at  
> anyone to
> survive, but the experience has been a burden all these years,  
> because I ran
> away! :-( Sorry folks!
>
> ted
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
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