Through a Soldier’s Lens: Vietnam in Photographs
War Beyond the Numbers When the Vietnam War is remembered, it is often through statistics and strategies written into history books. Yet those numbers cannot capture the daily reality of life in the jungle. Photographs, however, speak in a language that endures. For James Stanish, a combat officer in the 11th Armored Cavalry Regiment, the camera became as important as his weapon. His memoir, Images from Vietnam 1969: A Journey with the 11th Armored Cavalry , preserves the conflict not as abstract history, but as a lived experience told through a soldier’s eyes. The Range of a Lens The photographs shift between extremes. Sheridan tanks fire in the jungle, the recoil so powerful it lifts their frames. A helmet becomes a calendar, scratched with the final days of a tour. Children in Loc Ninh wait patiently for medical aid, while Montagnard tribespeople stand adorned in tradition. Stanish’s camera captures soldiers in moments of exhaustion, humor, and camaraderie. These imag...