[Leica] Viet nam 1968! :-)

[jsmith342 at gmail.com (Jefffery Smith)]

Well I ran away. Didn't have to flee to Canada, but managed to get a  
deferment on an error made by the Pentagon. Had the US been doing  
something that really mattered (Kings and Queens, not pawns) I might  
have enlisted.

A lot of my friends were proud of their service during those years,  
but not as proud of what we were doing over there.

Jeffery

On Jun 24, 2009, at 9:47 PM, 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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