“I want my pictures to hurt you, I don’t want you to get free rides, I’m there to bother you and make you feel uncomfortable like I feel when I go to bed at night, otherwise there’s no point in me going in the first place.” That’s what legendary British war photographer Sir Don McCullin told CBS News ahead of the publication of what he says will be his final book. For more than 50 years, McCullin covered conflicts around the world, from Cyprus, Biafra and Israel to Lebanon, Afghanistan and Northern Ireland. Now, the 90-year-old is preparing to release a powerful retrospective of a conflict that defined both his career and a generation: “Vietnam.” The book is based on thousands of images McCullin captured during multiple assignments in Vietnam during the 1960s and early 1970s. British photojournalist Don McCullin is seen in the walled city of Hue, South Vietnam, during the Tet Offensive, as US Marines attempted to retake the city of Hue from the North Vietnamese Army, February 1968. Behind McCullin is Company Commander Myron Harrington Delta, 1st Battalion, 5th Marines. Nik Wheeler/Corbis via Getty Some of McCullin’s most iconic works appear alongside a selection of never-before-seen photographs, documenting horrors that continue to resonate deeply in the American psyche. Unflinching and raw, the images capture not only the violence and pain suffered by innocent civilians caught in the crossfire, but also the lingering fear and exhaustion of the US Marines with whom McCullin was embedded. At the center of the new book is the 1968 Battle of Hue, fought during the notoriously bloody Tet Offensive. “It was surprising that any of us survived,” McCullin told CBS News correspondent Charlie D’Agata at his home in the hills of southwestern England. “A senior officer told me there was going to be a 24-hour operation and, you know, 11 days later it was still there.” It was in the ancient city of Hue that McCullin took arguably his most famous photograph, one that became one of the most defining images of the Vietnam War. Photo by war photographer Sir Don McCullin, “American Marine in Shock.” ©Don McCullin “US Marine Shocked” is as disturbing as it is simple: a soldier, motionless and seemingly unresponsive, sat clutching his rifle and staring into the distance. “I did five frames of this soldier sitting there and not once did his eyelashes move. Every one of those frames is identical,” McCullin said. The war photographer Sir Don McCullin. Simon Ellery/CBS News He remains uncomfortable with the photography’s fame to this day. “Frankly, I hate this photo because people think it’s the only decent photo I’ve ever taken.” “You just have to be careful when taking these photos,” he added. “If you make them an iconic image and it’s bearable to look at, you haven’t done your job properly because it means people will accept them instead of turning their backs.” The new book also highlights how war photography can blur the line between observer and participant. McCullin described photographing a seriously wounded Marine pinned down by enemy fire. “I took a photograph of this man held against the wall. This man was injured and I photographed him.” As his fellow Marines attempted to carry the victim through a narrow, bullet-riddled alley, McCullin put down his cameras and intervened. Sir Don McCullin’s photograph “Wounded Marine” shows a US Marine whom he would later carry to safety, during the 1968 Battle of Hue, part of the US Tet Offensive in the Vietnam War. © Don McCullin “I said, ‘Bring it to me,’ and I put this Marine on my back, and I carried him along the old medieval wall to safety,” he said. McCullin remains deeply affected by what he experienced during the Battle of Hue. “To this day, I live that battle every night I come up to this house to go to sleep, every night,” he told CBS News. “Every night. He never leaves me.” He doesn’t want or expect sympathy. For him, the camera was never an excuse to distance himself from human suffering. On a hill in Da Nang, Vietnam, in 1969, a priest listens to the confessions of American service members. ©Don McCullin As McCullin’s extraordinary career draws to a close, “Vietnam” stands as a historical document and a personal farewell. More than a collection of wartime photographs, it is a testament to a lifetime spent witnessing suffering and a final reminder of his enduring belief that photography should challenge and disturb rather than offer solace. All images in the article are (c) Don McCullin and appear in the book “Vietnam”, published by GOST Books. Click here for more information. Charlie D’Agata and Steve Berriman contributed to this report. More from CBS News Go deeper with The Free Press in:
