Archived posting to the Leica Users Group, 2009/06/24
[Author Prev] [Author Next] [Thread Prev] [Thread Next] [Author Index] [Topic Index] [Home] [Search]The world, this community, your friends and foremost your family are better because of it, Ted. There is no need to apologize. Just stick with your conviction that you did the right thing. You saved your skin to continue working and living and loving, and there is nothing wrong with that. I was enlisted in the Navy, chose a combat unit and got orders to Iraq. I was scared out of my wits but I chose to go. Yes, there were many drafted to go to Vietnam and the world is worse for it, but there are many lives which would be worse off without certain people in them. I just say stand up and say to everyone "Yeah, I didn't go." I believe there's much more to be respected in that honesty about fear and what life and future you and your family had at stake. I'm pretty sure that those who didn't come back would say the same thing. Phil Forrest On Wed, 24 Jun 2009 19:47:01 -0700 "Ted Grant" <tedgrant at shaw.ca> 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 > > > > > > > > > > > _______________________________________________ > Leica Users Group. > See http://leica-users.org/mailman/listinfo/lug for more information