Don McCullin’s Final Photo Book Will Look Back at His 16 Trips to Vietnam

Don McCullin in Vietnam.

Legendary war photographer Don McCullin has announced that his final book will be a retrospective on the Vietnam War.

McCullin, who turns 91 later this year, made dozens of trips to Vietnam from 1965 to 1972. McCullin shot roughly 30 rolls of film on each trip, and the photos for his new book, which is simply titled Vietnam, will be taken from those rolls.

The British photographer is famed for shooting in black and white and took well-known photos in Vietnam, such as Shell-Shocked US Marine, taken during the Tet Offensive.

The book will also provide an intimate perspective through the inclusion of McCullin’s own personal notes, commentary, and ephemeral materials; McCullin’s boot, spreads from the famous 1968 Sunday Times feature, his helmet, and his ID cards. Also included are contact sheets and the backs of photos depicting press use, notes, and editing plans.

Vietnam will provide a comprehensive recording of McCullin’s Vietnam experiences, reflecting on the fear, horror, devastation, shame, violence, bloodshed, and extreme trauma from war and conflict, looking back with reflection and distance. It is the first time McCullin has shared these stories in this depth.

An American soldier shelters from sniper fire inside an abandoned Vietnamese home.

McCullin tells The Guardian that photos he took in Vietnam still haunt him, particularly the Tet Offensive.

“They bother me at night when I go to bed,” McCullin says. “They come uninvited back to me and then I start saying: ‘Could I have done better? Could I have done this or done that?’ The actual battle I was in, the final big battle I was in 1968. I saw an awful lot of American soldiers getting killed very close to me.”

McCullin has repeatedly questioned what the point of his illustrious career has been, telling The Guardian that he has made “absolutely no impact whatsoever.”

“I’ve come away with these pictures and they were published and people were shocked to see them. But look at the wars that have happened since the Vietnam War. They’ve all been unfortunate too. I’ve been to many wars in Lebanon, and it’s still going on. How could I make a difference, really?”

Vietnam by Don McCullin is published by Gost and is set to be released in October.

Image credits: Don McCullin / Courtesy of Gost.