Vietnam: The Real War by Associated Press photographers – Exhibition

30th April is the anniversary of the fall of Saigon,  The Associated Press is recognizing the significance of the Vietnam War with an extraordinary photo exhibit in London. “Vietnam: The Real War, A Photographic History by The Associated Press” will open April 8 at the Guardian News and Media’s gallery at its Kings Cross headquarters.

To cover the Vietnam War, AP gathered a group of superb photojournalists in its Saigon bureau, creating one of the greatest photographic legacies of the 20th century. From Malcolm Browne’s photograph of the burning monk to Nick Ut’s famous picture of a nine-year-old running from a Napalm attack, these photographs capture the experience and tragedy of people caught in a war of insurgency in which everyone was suspect.

AP won six Pulitzer Prizes for its war coverage, four of them for photography. Now, drawn from AP’s photo history of the conflict, “Vietnam: The Real War,” a selection of these images can be viewed at the exhibit; telling the human story behind the war.

“The Vietnam War left its mark on AP, taking the lives of four of our photographers, but we made an unprecedented commitment to report on it,” said Santiago Lyon, AP’s director of photography. “Thanks to an uncensored press the world saw more of this war than any other. This exhibit now allows an even wider audience access to the photographic record of the tragedy of it.”

The exhibit runs until the end of May 2015 and is open each day from 10.00 to 18.00, Guardian News & Media, 90 York Way, London N1 9GU. Admission is free.

The BBC seems to be upping it’s game in relation to photography, everyday there is a new article or feature and unlike most publications you rarely see a sunset or pictures of ducks. Today they have a series of pictures by Associated Press photographers from the Vietnam War, here is a link to the full article

Nearly 60,000 US soldiers died in Vietnam, with more than 300,000 injured. For the Vietnamese, though, the figures were far higher, with estimates of more than half a million killed and many millions wounded.

While in Saigon, Faas trained and mentored young Vietnamese photographers who made many of the war’s defining images. Their daily photos from Vietnam helped inform the world of the traumas faced by people caught in the cross-fire of conflict.

From a journalist’s perspective the war in Vietnam was unique. It was the first war in modern times without censorship, where reporters and photographers were allowed virtually unrestricted access to the battlefields.

Another was Nick Ut’s picture of nine-year-old Phan Thi Kim Phuc – a young girl, running naked and terrified down the road after a napalm attack – which became one of the iconic images of the entire conflict.

During the conflict, AP’s Saigon bureau won six Pulitzer Prizes for its war coverage, four of them for photography.

See the rest of these powerful images here

Here is more from AP  Explore The Real War