Annotated Photo Album Compiled by an American Serviceman in Saigon During the Vietnam War

Saigon: 1967-68. Ring binder with flexible black leatherette wrappers measuring 11.5 x 9.5", containing a total of 127 color or black and white photographs pasted onto black construction paper placed within the binder's plastic sleeves. The images measure approximately 4 x 3.25" each; there are 76 black and white images and 67 color photos; almost all of the images are accompanied by neat inked captions on the album leaves. The album was compiled by Spec. 4 Robert L. Wiesinger II, of Wilmington, De, while he was stationed in Saigon in 1967 and 1968 with the 519th Military Intelligence Battalion. A clipped newspaper article present in the album by a Wilmington journalist who tracked down Wiesinger and his colleague at their base in Saigon describes the serviceman's views on the war (supportive), his long hours (sometimes 23 or 24 hour shifts), the secretive nature of his work ("Both 20-years-olds are working in such highly classified jobs that I wasn't allowed to take their pictures, either inside or outside the building"), and his life in Saigon. The album begins with 12 snapshots of a uniformed Wiesinger with his parents back home, and ends with 12 images of Wiesenger resting in Hawaii after his tour; the rest of the images document his time in Saigon--pictures of his base in Saigon (including "the only available drinking water", "my guard post", his barracks, etc), images depicting life in the camp, and scenes of downtown Saigon including U.S. Military infrastructure, sampans on the Saigon river, a "'Local' House of Prostitution (Many Amusing Stories About the Place!),'" a group of local boys who shined shoes, and more. In addition, the album includes a number of images documenting the Tet Offensive of 1968, when the North Vietnamese attacked the city and occupied an island directly across from Wiesinger's base. Thus, the album includes images of sections of town that were destroyed in the fighting, including "a destroyed village" the Vietnamese Officers Club ("note scorched ground"), etc. An 8 x 10" aerial photograph of the base is present at the end of the album; five locations in the base are numbered in the image, which is accompanied by a typed key explaining the locations' relevance--the "island where the V.C. were held during the offensive," a mortar hole from the fighting, Wiesingers' barracks, etc. Finally, a printed map of Saigon is also present, together with Wiesinger's annotations describing relevant locations. Overall in very good condition, with mild soiling to covers and plastic sleeves. Item #8170

Price: $450.00