Australian Photography Awards Profile

I PROTEST!

“I’m just a veteran combat photographer and foreign correspondent who cares intensely about my country and the role we are playing – and assigning to ourselves – in the world of today. And I want to shout a loud and clear protest at what has happened at Khe Sanh, and in all of Vietnam.” I PROTEST! KHE SANH, VIETNAM David Douglas Duncan’s impassioned plea for sanity in a disastrous war.

I had the honour of meeting David Douglas Duncan some years back, just long enough to shake his hand and explain to him how much his work had influenced me. Revisiting ‘I Protest!’, this small book with the powerful message, I was struck by how little our world has changed. Different wars, same insanity. My mind started to wander, reflecting on the kind of world my five year old son Luc might inherit. I have only recently started introducing him to the work that I do – shown him some photographs. I can tell when he’s moved, the look in his eyes — the questions he asks. I’m proud that he cares. I want to keep on contributing, in some small way, to help guarantee my boy’s world is better informed. The only just war is the war on ignorance.