As we mark the point where the number of American soldiers killed in the Iraq War exceeds 3,000, I am reminded of this article from Life magazine, thirty-six years ago. The article was accompanied by photos of all the 242 servicemen who were killed in Vietnam that week. It took twelve pages to print them all. Most shocking is this sentence- “The numbers of the dead are average for any seven-day period during this stage of the war.�

Early in the Iraq war, former U.S. Senator Max Cleland spoke at Brown. A Vietnam veteran, Sen. Cleland lost both legs and one arm in the war. During his political career he was head of the Veteran’s Administration and continues to work on behalf of veterans, especially those who suffer physical and mental disabilities. He spoke about his work for veterans and our troops, and his outrage at this present war. In his words, “I’ve seen this film before.�

Life Publishes One Week’s Dead in Vietnam
May 28-June 3,1969

The faces shown on the next pages are the faces of American men killed-in the words of the official announcement of their deaths-“in connection with the conflict in Vietnam.” The names, 242 of them, were released by the Pentagon during the week of May 28 through June 3, a span of no special significance except that it includes Memorial Day. The numbers of the dead are average for any seven-day period during this stage of the war.

It is not the intention of this article to speak for the dead. We cannot tell with any precision what they thought of the political currents which drew them across the world. From the letters of some, it is possible to tell they felt strongly that they should be in Vietnam, that they had great sympathy for the Vietnamese people and were appalled at their enormous suffering. Some had voluntarily extended their tours of combat duty; some were desperate to come home. Their families provided most of these photographs, and many expressed their own feelings that their sons and husbands died in a necessary cause. Yet in a time when the numbers of Americans killed in this war – 36,000 – though far less than the Vietnamese losses, have exceeded the dead in the Korean War, when the nation continues week after week to be numbed by a three-digit statistic which is translated to direct anguish in hundreds of homes all over the country, we must pause to look into the faces. More than we must know how many, we must know who. The faces of one week’s dead, unknown but to families and friends, are suddenly recognized by all in this gallery of young American eyes.