Little known LIFE Magazine photographer John Florea's photo story on Saigon in 1945
Jan 21, 2022 14:15:28 #
https://www.flickr.com/photos/13476480@N07/albums/72157649006017973/with/16625886486/?fbclid=IwAR2lmzk7BM215nllNaNLSofp3SO2UpwFPUrAkY1Dfq7_TXZFGahY0CzddIQ
The link takes one to a LIFE Magazine piece about the October 1945 fight by "Annamites" to eject the British, French and Japanese occupiers. Anam was the southernmost of three French colonies in what had been known as French IndoChina. (Cochin-China, Annam, and Tonkin were the names of these colonies. Tonkin was in the far north, Anam in the south, And Cochin in between.) The men shown in these amazing photos were part of Ho Chi Minh's Viet Minh, later known as Viet Cong. Incredibly, the British, seeking to maintain their French ally's hold on these rice, rubber, and mineral-rich colonies, turned some of their defeated Japanese foes loose on the revolutionaries. It was during this time, as you will read in the text, that the very first US soldier died in what we now call Vietnam. He was US Army lieutenant colonel Peter Dewey, on assignment to the OSS, seeking to find and repatriate Army Air Corps and US Navy aviators who had been shot down over the former French colonies. He was mistaken for a Frenchman--he spoke fluent French--at a checkpoint and shot to death.
The link takes one to a LIFE Magazine piece about the October 1945 fight by "Annamites" to eject the British, French and Japanese occupiers. Anam was the southernmost of three French colonies in what had been known as French IndoChina. (Cochin-China, Annam, and Tonkin were the names of these colonies. Tonkin was in the far north, Anam in the south, And Cochin in between.) The men shown in these amazing photos were part of Ho Chi Minh's Viet Minh, later known as Viet Cong. Incredibly, the British, seeking to maintain their French ally's hold on these rice, rubber, and mineral-rich colonies, turned some of their defeated Japanese foes loose on the revolutionaries. It was during this time, as you will read in the text, that the very first US soldier died in what we now call Vietnam. He was US Army lieutenant colonel Peter Dewey, on assignment to the OSS, seeking to find and repatriate Army Air Corps and US Navy aviators who had been shot down over the former French colonies. He was mistaken for a Frenchman--he spoke fluent French--at a checkpoint and shot to death.
Jan 21, 2022 15:08:56 #
Wow...not lost on me is the fact I'm there 25 years later repeating the history. Meatgrinder politics.
Jan 21, 2022 15:13:40 #
The story is both sad and fascinating. I was also — this is a photography site, after all — very interested in and admiring of the photo’s included. Am guessing they were likely taken with a Leica because of the general dates involved.
Thank you for sharing!
Thank you for sharing!
Jan 21, 2022 16:41:07 #
William Royer wrote:
The story is both sad and fascinating. I was also — this is a photography site, after all — very interested in and admiring of the photo’s included. Am guessing they were likely taken with a Leica because of the general dates involved.
Thank you for sharing!
Thank you for sharing!
This link has a picture of Florea with a camera. Perhaps someone more knowledgeable than I can identify what he was shooting with at the time.
https://www.life.com/photographer/john-florea/
Jan 21, 2022 16:56:44 #
To my eye — not sure. Certainly a rangefinder. Does not look like a “Barnack” version because I can’t see the distinctive separate rangefinder and framing windows. Too early for a Leica IIIg which began, I recall, in the 50’s. Perhaps a Contax?
Jan 22, 2022 09:48:00 #
marvinjwolf wrote:
Very interesting series.
Jan 22, 2022 11:27:28 #
It's my understanding that most of LIFE's shooters in those days used either a Leica or a Rollei, or both. The Rolliflex had both the advantage of a large negative and allowed the shooter to be less obvious about his subject.
Jan 22, 2022 15:31:13 #
I have told this story on my site A Means to Heal (ameanstoheal.org) which chronicles my journeys to all 50 states to visit, honor, and photograph memorials to those lost in the war on 'Nam. JFK made a comment about judging a nation by how it remembers its heroes, this is just my small effort. Check it out if interested.
Jan 23, 2022 14:52:31 #
I was in Saigon in1967 for 10 months as a helicopter pilot supporting HQ. Several of the buildings in these photos, like the Continental Restaurant and the building with the arched entrance, were still very important then. We were warned about going in the open air restaurant, as it had had explosives thrown in during busy periods. Vietnam had not changed much in the years between '45 and '67.
Jan 24, 2022 11:15:42 #
The Continental Palace was and is a hotel. It was upgraded around 2000. When I visited there in 2005 it seemed very modern and luxurious. The same was true of the Caravelle Hotel, just across the square.
The square was in front of the National Assembly building, which also remains, though it is no longer in use as Hanoi is now the seat of government.
The porch or veranda of the Continental Palace was enclosed in thick wire mesh to counter the propensity of passing terrorists to lob grenades into a place in those years mostly frequented by Americans. I met the noted journalist and author Neil Sheehan there one night. He hailed me as I was passing and had remembered me from when we both served at Camp Kaiser, ROK, in 1960. He was a finance clerk, while I was a machine-gunner and later a weapons squad leader in the 17th Infantry at that time.
The square was in front of the National Assembly building, which also remains, though it is no longer in use as Hanoi is now the seat of government.
The porch or veranda of the Continental Palace was enclosed in thick wire mesh to counter the propensity of passing terrorists to lob grenades into a place in those years mostly frequented by Americans. I met the noted journalist and author Neil Sheehan there one night. He hailed me as I was passing and had remembered me from when we both served at Camp Kaiser, ROK, in 1960. He was a finance clerk, while I was a machine-gunner and later a weapons squad leader in the 17th Infantry at that time.
Jan 24, 2022 22:30:27 #
marvinjwolf wrote:
The Continental Palace was and is a hotel. It was ... (show quote)
"A Bright Shining Lie" by Sheehan, is a seminal piece. Brilliant.
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