A Woman Pleads for Mercy
One of the most gut-wrenching photographs on this list, the image below shows a Vietnamese woman by the name of Cong-Hoa begging an American soldier to spare her son’s life, who was arrested after being mistaken for a Viet Cong militant. There were many cases of wrongfully arrested civilians that were suspected of belonging to the savage Viet Cong army.
The look on this woman’s face is just devastating, a mother’s worst nightmare. As if the war itself wasn’t enough to contend with, she also had to plead for her son’s life, as an American soldier walks around with a gun, just waiting for a chance to use it.
Refugee Ships
Once the communist North Vietnamese army took over Saigon and marked the end of a 20-year war, there were millions of Vietnamese citizens that were left homeless. Photographed below is the hold of a ship crowded with refugees in the central Vietnamese city of Da Nang in 1975.
Many South Vietnamese refugees escaped to the United States in search of a new life and flee government persecution back in Vietnam. As one can clearly see in the photo, Vietnamese refugees had to endure terrible conditions as they were forced to leave their homes and survive a long journey to a foreign land.
The Power of Humanity
This beautiful photograph captures the moment when Staff Sergeant Edgar D. Bledsoe comforts a critically-ill baby in his arms. The sergeant can't hold his endearment towards the child, looking at it with such innocence and kindness.
The image is part of the collection of photos taken by Charles Haughey, a Vietnam War veteran that was assigned the job of battalion photographer. Haughey was tasked with keeping the camera out of the battlefield since the purpose of these photos was to boost the soldiers' morale.
Refugees Flee Saigon
After the fall of Saigon in 1975, the number of Vietnamese refugees was astounding, and the number just kept growing, reaching over 1.6 million. The photo below depicts desperate refugees helping each other disembark from a barge as they flee Saigon.
This was a harsh reality that Vietnamese people were forced to deal with in the aftermath of such an atrocious war. In the photo, we can see the tired, worn-out faces of women, children, and men alike. No one was spared.
Running for Cover
Shot in the 1960s, this photo captures a group of South Vietnamese soldiers under enemy fire as they run to safety. Again, we see the vast nature that surrounded these troops and realizes how easy it was for enemies to launch a surprise attack.
Between the booby traps on the ground and the dense forest trees to camouflage in, these soldiers never saw an attack coming.