CONCORD — For three Vietnam veterans, the images of a war zone are as vivid today as yesterday: an infantry patrol moving along a shallow river facing imminent threat; village kids enjoying a bubble gum machine.
Then, there are images of the veterans themselves — young, seeing things they will never forget.
“I recorded as much of what I saw as I practically could just because I never knew what might happen next or who I might encounter,” said Tim Dallas. “My photos are not intended to glorify any aspect of war. War is the worst that humans can do to each other on a massive scale.”
Dallas, Steven Burchik and Jim Hardy have captured their war experience with photos and artwork in “Remembering Vietnam: Honoring Our Veterans through Art,” at the aRt Cottage in Concord.
Dallas was assigned to the U.S. Army’s 25th Infantry Division, Headquarters Company and involved with the Medical Civic Action Program to improve health standards of Vietnamese villagers by providing medical and dental services, and supplies. He had enjoyed taking pictures of family and friends since he was a kid, and said it was pretty natural to get a camera and record his experiences in Vietnam.
“I rarely came across anyone who seemed uncomfortable having their photo taken,” Dallas said. “Many openly requested I take their picture even though I couldn’t share it with them. I always tried to be respectful of the people I came in contact with. At the same time, knowing who the enemy was, was not a certain proposition, so I was always wary of anyone I encountered, including children.”
The Concord photographer said his collection was an effort to put part of his experience into context, and his images “are intended to show that there was more to the overall war effort than just killing as many enemy as possible.”
Burchik, a U.S. Army sergeant serving as a forward observer in a mortar platoon, said his June 1968 to June 1969 deployment with the 1st Infantry Division stationed in the rice paddies near Saigon included good times as well as bad. His objective was taking pictures of anything that would help him remember what daily life was like for a soldier in the field.
“I assumed that this would be a once-in-a-lifetime experience so it became a photographic diary,” he said.
Returning home, he shared the photos with family and some close friends, but most people were tired of the war and did not care to see them, he recalled. So Burchik packed the photographs and slides away and did not look at them or talk about the war. That changed in 2013, when a high school teacher asked him to give a presentation for her advanced English class. He later wrote a book, “Compass and a Camera,” about his experiences.
He said soldiers were not encouraged to bring personal cameras into the field, primarily because they needed to stay alert for enemy contact.
“When we stopped for a short five-minute break on patrol, I would pull the camera out and quickly take a series of photos of the guys who were near me, then put the camera away,” he said.
The other significant challenge was keeping the camera dry during daily river crossings. For Burchik, the image that stands out most is of a patrol in the middle of a river.
“It is memorable because it was my last patrol in the field and I was hoping to get through the day without getting hit,” he remembered.
After being drafted, Jim Hardy of Martinez was sent to Vietnam as an Army artist and basic infantry soldier. He returned for a second tour in March 1970, where he was assigned to the 221st Signal Brigade’s Combat Photographers “Southeast Asia Pictorial Center.”
It was a sprawling base camp on the outskirts of Saigon, where he said he spent the days in the lab developing negatives from combat photographers, and would get an occasional assignment for an illustration or two for one of the Army unit magazines.
“I would make drawings by copying photographs that the combat photographers brought back from the field,” he said. “I preferred doing my own sketches from life. I felt they made a stronger artistic statement.”
Hardy transferred to the 1st Aviation Brigade and set up a small art studio in an underground bunker. He also rode along with the soldiers to sketch them on their patrols, he said.
Hardy said rather than autographing his sketches, he had each soldier sign drawings of themselves, which are included in the show at the aRt Cottage. Wood-carved figures made in the likeness of each soldier of Hardy’s platoon are also on display.
“It’s about the love and respect I have for the infantry soldier and what he endured,” Hardy said. “I had trained to do what they were asked to do, but by some good luck and a little bit of talent I was able to pick and choose my own path during a very tumultuous time in my life. I’m still bewildered and trying to make sense of it all. I wrestle with survivor guilt issues, as is the case with many veterans.”
Not every moment was intense combat situations. In fact, much of service in a war zone involves boring activities like endless patrols with the potential for short, fierce battles, Burchik said.
“I hope that visitors to this exhibit will come away with a sense of what it was like for the two and a half million Americans that served in Vietnam more than 50 years ago,” he said.
IF YOU GO
WHAT: “Remembering Vietnam: Honoring Our Veterans through Art”
WHEN: Artists’ reception 6-8 p.m. Nov. 10; show runs through Nov. 25
WHERE: aRt Cottage, 2238 Mt. Diablo St., Concord
INFORMATION: show:http://artscottage.blogspot.com; artists: www.timdallas.com; www.stevenburchik.com