Gallery Director’s Talk

A Year in Vietnam

Saturday, November 23, 2019 at 2 pm

In conjunction with the current exhibition, Where Have All the Flowers Gone, Gallery Director, Burt Finger, will give a talk about his tour of duty in Vietnam, 1968-1969.

The exhibition features photographs by important photojournalists that have documented various wars in the 20th and 21st Century. Several of the images featured in this show were taken during the Vietnam War.

Burt served with the Corps of Engineers, 299th Combat Engineer Battalion, in Dak To, Vietnam. Towards the end of his Tour of Duty, President Nixon’s “Vietnamization” took hold as the policy to end the war. Training and equipping the South Vietnamese forces to take over the war was the goal. Removal of U.S. troops began, including pulling out the 4th Infantry Brigade from Dak To, who the 299th was supporting.

Essentially, the 299th took on infantry responsibilities, since the Army of the Republic of Vietnam (ARVN), could not fulfill their mission.

In Larry Burrows’ LIFE photo essay taken in Dak To, A Case of Cowardice Under Fire (published September 19, 1969), South Vietnamese soldiers were seen cowering from enemy fire and huddling in a nearby ditch when an ambush and fire fight occurred, resulting in American casualties.

A story of a year at war that encompassed daily routines, mine sweeps, bridge building, medical missions, reconnaissance, shelling inside perimeter, are among the subjects of Burt Finger’s talk.

Event is Free!

RSVP’s are kindly appreciated.

https://www.eventbrite.com/e/gallery-directors-talk-a-year-in-vietnam-tickets-78088598099

Image:

Greg Wilson, Lieutenant 299th Eng. Battalion, Recon mission, Vietnam, 1969