Juliana Sebben

Visual Rhetorical Analysis: War Photograph

Wilson-Clasby
9/29/16
When one thinks of the Vietnam War,
images of villages on fire, billows of bomb
smoke, and the barrels of guns poking through
thick forest brush often spring to mind. Some
recall low-flying helicopters, muddy boots
stomping through shallows, and, of course, all
the bloodshed that accompanied this war in
which Americans

should

not

have

been

involved. What tends to get lost amongst these

memories, especially by those without personal
ties to the war, are the faces and identities of
the soldiers who experienced first-hand the
horrors of combat. Armed with nothing but his
camera and an assignment to document
history as it occured, German photojournalist
Horst Faas traveled to the site of destruction
and took the photograph pictured to the left
with intent to

reveal just exactly who the

American government was sending overseas

to fight and, in the unfortunate case of nearly 60,0001, to die.
A photographer intent on capturing the honest emotions of individuals, Horst Faas uses a
variety of visual tools and techniques to help him tell the most authentic stories possible through
his pictures. Vectors of attention, cropping, and color, for example, are three strategies
implemented by Faas in his effort to tell the story of a young soldier caught in the throes of the
Vietnam war conflict.
Though, at first glance, the above image appears to be nothing more than the headshot
of a young American soldier, the way in which its arranged by Faas tells a much deeper story.
The soldiers eyes, which viewers are immediately drawn to, are bright and alert, looking directly
1 According to an article published by the Military Factory, a total of 58,193 American lives were lost in the
Vietnam War. Additionally, over 150,000 soldiers were wounded and another estimated 1,6000 went
missing. To learn exactly how these lives were impacted, please refer to the following link:
http://www.militaryfactory.com/vietnam/casualties.asp

into the lens of the camera, and a small smile seems to be playing on his lips. It is only at
second glance, and with the help of vectors of
attention, that the words WAR IS HELL come into
focus. The seams and creases of this soldiers
helmet lead a viewers eyes to the cryptic message
etched into the band of his helmet and the
lighthearted

tone

of

the

picture

is

altered

immediately. Further vectors of attention include the

near alignment of the vertical center seam of the
soldiers helmet and the bridge of his nose;
sandwiched between the two is the word IS,
indicating the present tense - war is hell, war is right
now, and this soldier is in the midst of it all with no
means of escape. Lastly, the long vertical line made
by the seam of his helmet and bridge of his nose
intercept the horizontal band reading WAR IS
HELL in such a way that the sign of a cross is
formed. This can be interpreted as an allusion to
religion and salvation - now, several factors indicate
that this young man is in need of saving, a concept
which works to draw sympathy from viewers.
How this photograph is cropped is also an incredibly important part of achieving Faass
narrative mission. The portrait is very intimate, taken up close, and framed in such a way that no
background is revealed, nor is the information on the subjects dog tag. The exclusion of all but
the soldiers face turn this into a photo which suddenly becomes very personal; its the type of
picture one friend might take of another. Without any identification, this soldier becomes a man
anyone could know - he takes on the identity of brother, boyfriend, best friend, kid-next-door,
son. Furthermore, combined with the close crop of the photo, the photographers black-andwhite color choice transform the picture into something alarmingly reminiscent of a high school
yearbook portrait. The subjects anonymity make him relatable and make the context of his
situation that much more heartbreaking. After seeing a portrait such as this, it can be imagined
that American viewers at the time of the war were much more likely to protest against it and
demand the return of their fathers, sons, brothers, and friends.

There are a variety of reasons the Vietnam War was, and still is, considered such a
controversial event. Having been the result of civil conflict between North and South Vietnam2,
many believed American soldiers had no reason to be fighting at all. However, because the
conflict involved the spread of Communism, the American government felt it had no choice other
than to send troops forth to stop it. Additionally, many Americans opposed the war for the death
and destruction it was causing, not only in the lives of the Vietnamese but in the lives of young
people3, like the boy pictured, who were sent to fight. This photograph was taken on June 18th,
1965, when the war was still in its early stages and the anti-war movement in America was just
beginning to pick up steam4.
Fass and photographers like him who captured and shared images of atrocity overseas
played large roles intensifying war opposition. Some of the most iconic images from the Vietnam
War, including one of a Vietcong suspect being shot dead a point-blank range by a Saigon
police chief and another of young naked girl, badly burned, fleeing an American napalm attack,
were run only by the determination of Faas who had to persuade his bosses to publish the
photos. Aware of the power such explicit images have to open the eyes of Americans to the
horrors of war, Faas felt strongly that they should be shared and, furthermore, may well have
published his own photo, War is Hell, conscious of the uproar such an innocent face and
personal portrait might cause in the United States.
Finally, what makes this photograph so striking is the contrast between the soldiers clear face
and the harrowing words written on his helmet. Though, unlike many war photographs, it doesnt
depict graphic bloodshed or violence, it is a very moving image all the same. It tells the story of
2 North Vietnam, after ridding itself of Japanese invaders following the end of World War II, established a
Communist government and seeked to unite the nation under Communist rule. Though ambitious, the
idea was met with serious dissent from the South, whose leader, Ngo Dinh Diem, was passionately
Catholic and vehemently opposed to Communist ideals. Furthermore, South Vietnam was backed by
several anti-Communist nations, including the United States, South Korea, New Zealand, and Thailand,
amongst others.

3 The average age of the American Vietnamese War soldier was 21 years old but men as young as 17
were being sent into combat. Altogether, the number of men killed in battle under the age of 21 totals
25,493.

4 According to an essay written by Mark Barringer for Illinois University, the first American protests
against intervention in the Vietnam War occurred in 1963. However, opposition only really began in
earnest in 1965 - the same year this photo was taken - after Vietnam saw an increase in US military
intervention and US-led air strikes. To read the rest of the essay, please refer to the following link:
http://www.english.illinois.edu/maps/vietnam/antiwar.html

a young man at war in a foreign country far away from home; he has already experienced battle,
as indicated by the tears and creases in his helmet, and has obviously already been witness to
some horrors. Despite the soldiers small, closed-mouth smile, his apprehension is clear in the
anxious gaze of his eyes, which look straight into the camera and seem to ask the viewer for
help. His distress is even more explicitly stated in the expression on his helmet: war is hell. The
soldier knows it, is living through it and, Horst Faas, having been documenting the Vietnam War
for several months now and having documented other international conflicts 5 in the past, surely
does not doubt it either. Thus, he takes this image and transforms it so that it tells a very specific
story: these are real people in battle, these are the boys-next-door, and they are suffering, will
continue to suffer, until this war comes to an end.

5 Before photographing the Vietnam War for Associated Press, Faas also covered issues in the Congo
and Algeria. He has won two Pulitzer prizes for his work.

Work Cited:
AP Images. Horst Faas AP Images,
http://www.apimages.com/Collection/Landing/Photographer-HorstFaas-/03e5ff94483648859f53486e967ec079
Barringer, Mark. The Anti War Movement in the United States Modern American Poetry,
http://www.english.illinois.edu/maps/vietnam/antiwar.html

Faas, Horst. Untitled. 1955. Associated Press. Famous Pictures. 29 Sept 2016.

Military Factory. American Vietnam War Casualties (1955-1975) Military Factory,

http://www.militaryfactory.com/vietnam/casualties.asp

Spector, Ronald H. Vietnam War 1954-1975 Britannica, https://www.britannica.com/event/Vietnam-War