An ABC cameraman who filmed the horrors of the Vietnam War has released stunning images from the war as part of his autobiography.
Yasutsune ‘Tony’ Hirashiki served as top cameraman for the network during the war, and his footage showing the nightmare of the war helped galvanize anti-war sentiment across the country.
In his book, entitled ‘On the Frontlines of the Television War,’ Hirashiki recounts his experiences on the job.
‘The memoirs are based on my experience of the war as a cameraman,’ he told Media Drum World. ‘We were told that our coverage of the war was not to be scripted, dramatized, sensationalized, exaggerated or biased in any way. Our job was to record what was happening “as it is” and then be sure we reported it “as it was”.’
Yasutsune ‘Tony’ Hirashiki is pictured at left chatting with an NBC cameraman. Hirashiki was working as a cameraman for ABC during the Vietnam War
Journalist Don North is pictured recording a stand-up while Airborne troops move out as part of Operation Junction City on February 27, 1967. Pictured mixing the audio is Takayuki Senzaki while Hirashiki films. Hirashiki was called ‘Tony’ for quicker communication
Pictured is a South Vietnamese soldier. The conflict, which formally began after US troops were deployed to the Southeast Asian nation in 1965, claimed at least three million lives, including 58,000 Americans
Terrence, or Terry, Khoo of ABC is pictured playfully jumping on the back of freelance Associated Press photographer Koichiro Morita. Khoo was killed in the summer of 1972 at the frontline of Quang Tri in South Vietnam
The Vietnam War informally began in the early 1950s and formally began in 1965 after the United States deployed troops to the Southeast Asian nation to fight in the conflict against North Vietnam and South Vietnam. Its objective was to prevent the country from becoming communist. The US withdrew in 1973 and Vietnam became a communist nation in 1975. The conflict claimed at least three million lives, including 58,000 Americans.
‘Although people called me “Kamikaze cameraman”, I was a bit of a chicken when it came to certain aspects of war,’ Mr Hirashiki told Media Drum World. ‘I was never afraid during combat but found blood terrifying upon seeing wounded or dead bodies. I often fainted, so I always closed one eye and just saw the bloody scene by recording it through my finder.’
Hirashiki learned how to cover the war while on the job.
‘War took the place of journalism school and battles were our classrooms. Veteran journalists and soldiers were our professors,’ he said.
Khoo and North are pictured together. Hirashiki said: ‘We were told that our coverage of the war was not to be scripted, dramatized, sensationalized, exaggerated or biased in any way. Our job was to record what was happening “as it is” and then be sure we reported it “as it was”‘
Pictured is Hirashiki playing a game of poker with colleagues and a government press officer while on standby
A wounded GI is pictured smoking a cigarette. Hirashiki said: ‘Although people called me “Kamikaze cameraman”, I was a bit of a chicken when it came to certain aspects of war’
Pictured is a scene from May 13, 1967, during which the Airborne unit’s outer perimeter was becoming thin and the wounded were retreating into the forest
Hirashiki decided to write his memoirs after two friends, Sam Kai Faye and Terence Khoo, who he met in Vietnam died.
‘In the Summer of 1972 they were killed at the frontline of Quang Tri in South Vietnam. It was the saddest experience of my life. We had planned and dreamt of our futures after the war. When we brought back their bodies to the families in Singapore, I promised Terry’s mother that I would write a book in his memory to show how great her son was,’ he told Media Drum World.
Hirashiki continued to film conflicts across the world until he retired in 2006 at the age of 68. He said he began to write the book in order to ‘fulfill the promise made to Terry’s mother.’
He added: ‘At the same time I wanted to share our experience with the world to show how our media correspondents and crews had covered the war.’
The book, which was published by Casemate in March 2017, is available for order. Its introduction was written by veteran news anchor Ted Koppel.
Pictured is a victim of a massacre by Cambodian government troops. Ethnic Vietnamese living in Cambodia were blamed by the Lon Nol government for its mistakes in its war against Communism. The photo was taken on April 9, 1970
Correspondent Roger Peterson, pictured at right, was wounded while following a unit involved in searching for guerrilla bases near Con Thein, Vietnam, in October 1966
Ron Miller of ABC married his girlfriend in 1971 at the Continental Hotel in Ho Chi Minh City. Hirashiki served as best man
A medic is pictured applying pressure to the neck of a wounded soldier. Hirashiki said: ‘I was never afraid during combat but found blood terrifying upon seeing wounded or dead bodies. I often fainted, so I always closed one eye and just saw the bloody scene by recording it through my finder’
Kyoichi Sawada, a Pulitzer Prize-winning photographer who was killed while reporting in Cambodia in 1971, is pictured in the field
ABC News correspondent David Snell is pictured in an aid station along the Mekong Delta. He was injured by a landmine
Pictured is Elmer Lower, who later became the president of ABC News. He worked as a sound man while in Ho Chi Minh City, which was then known as Saigon
Pictured is ABC cameraman Joseph Lee, who was captured by a rebel unit while living in Phnom Penh, Cambodia. He hid his Korean heritage from his captors
Hirashiki is pictured labeling film cans while unloading his camera. He retired in 2006 at the age of 68
Pictured is a letter from correspondent Ron Peterson. In the letter, he describes a particularly intense moment during the conflict in Southeast Asia
Pictured is the grave of Terrence ‘Terry’ Khoo in Singapore. Khoo died will reporting in Vietnam at the age of 35
The book, which was published by Casemate in March 2017, is available for order