We Shot the War

Book excerpt: We Shot the War: Overseas Weekly in Vietnam examines the legacy of one of the most popular and eccentric newspapers to cover the Vietnam War. With its mix of hard-hitting military exposÉs, pinups, and comic strips, Overseas Weekly earned a reputation as a muckraking truth teller. Time magazine called it "the least popular publication at the Pentagon." From 1966 to 1972, the paper's reporters and photographers tackled controversial topics, including courts-martial, racial discrimination, drug use, and opposition to command. And they published some of the most intimate portraits of American GIs and Vietnamese civilians, taken with the specific purpose of documenting the daily life of individuals caught in the world's most grueling and disputed conflict. Through striking photographs and personal essays, We Shot the War brings viewers behind the viewfinders of photojournalists who covered the conflict and introduces readers to two extraordinary women: founder Marion von Rospach and Saigon office bureau chief Ann Bryan. Together, they fought for the right of women to report in combat zones and argued against media censorship. Foreword by Eric Wakin Contributors: Cynthia Copple, Art Greenspon, Don Hirst, Brent Procter