Portraits reveal stories behind Vietnam veteran experiences
The faces could be easily forgotten — just middle-aged folks showing what time and gravity can do to hairlines and smooth cheeks. But these faces reveal much more. These are faces of Vietnam veterans from Wisconsin. Defiant, somber, proud, their experiences in the war can be read in their connection with the camera, daring us to look away.
![[photo] Will Williams.](http://www.news.wisc.edu/story_images/1669/original/Veteran_CMA_Back_Williams_p.jpg)
Will Williams, Deforest, Army, 25th Infantry Division. This photo is among those that will be featured in the Chazen exhibit “Back in the World: Portraits of Wisconsin Vietnam Veterans.”
They wear bits of their old uniforms, hats and medals. Those still in youthful trim are able to button their jackets. Some hold photos or mementos that reflect their service: Rev. Ray Stubbe (Wauwatosa), a Navy chaplain who was at the Siege of Khe Sanh, holds a crucifix.
Nearly 30 photos of these veterans make up an exhibit at the Chazen Museum of Art, “Back in the World: Portraits of Wisconsin Vietnam Veterans.” The exhibit features large-format color portraits of Vietnam veterans from Wisconsin along with excerpts of interviews from a three-hour documentary being produced by Wisconsin Public Television (WPT). The exhibit represents a partnership among WPT, the Wisconsin Veterans Museum and the Chazen.
The documentary is part of WPT’s Wisconsin Stories project, which has produced award-winning documentaries about Wisconsin veterans’ experiences in World War II, Korea and now Vietnam.
It is scheduled to air in May. James Gill, staff photographer at WPT, took the portraits as part of the documentary project.
Gill’s photos provide insight into the veterans’ memories and experiences, which they carry long after coming back to the world. “Portraits can tell stories when people put their masks down and stop being protective. Some [of these veterans] were open, some were not. I didn’t ask them not to smile, but most of them didn’t,” says Gill. “The way they stood and what they wore also gives insight into their personality.”
The photos are large, 30-by-40 inches, and are mounted on acrylic without frames. “The photos are pretty arresting because of their size,” says Gill. “Not having a frame removes some of that distance you can get in a gallery and makes them more intimate and immediate.”
The scale and presence of the images, combined with the interview snippets, deliver a powerful experience with relevance for the right-now. “I hope people will glimpse into the Vietnam veteran experience. This war is not widely talked about and they feel their experiences have been minimalized. World War II was the ‘good’ war, right? These people also know that soldiers are returning from Iraq and Afghanistan with the same issues and problems they faced,” says Gill. “One veteran said it best: ‘We do a good job at war, not such a good job at peace.’”
On Wednesday, Nov. 11 (Veterans Day), the Chazen will host a reception and panel discussion with some of the veterans featured in the exhibit and the documentary. The panelists are George Banda (Milwaukee) combat medic, 101st Airborne Division; Bruce Jensen (West Allis), gunners mate, U.S.S Stone County, Mobile Riverine Force; James Kurtz (Middleton), platoon leader, 1st Infantry Division; Rev. Ray Stubbe (Wauwatosa), Navy chaplain, Siege of Khe Sanh; and Willie Williams (Deforest), staff sergeant, 25th Infantry Division. Mik Derks, producer of the documentary, will moderate the panel, which begins at 6 p.m.; Gill will provide opening remarks. The reception begins at 7 p.m. Gill will also give a gallery talk on his work in the exhibition at 7 p.m. on Thursday, Nov. 19, also at the Chazen.
The exhibition will be on view until Jan. 3. It will then travel to La Crosse and Superior before heading to Green Bay’s Lambeau Field May 21–23 as part of LZ Lambeau Weekend, a celebration for the state’s Vietnam veterans. The event includes concerts, reunions, a memorial ceremony, exhibits and screenings of excerpts from the WPT documentary.
Gill photographed the veterans profiled in the previous Wisconsin Stories productions, but says this group was different. “Many of these veterans are still angry at the way they were treated when they returned. For me, working with them was a wonderful educational process,” Gill says. “There is no one stereotypical Vietnam vet. Some are now working for peace; others feel the war was the right thing to do. But, man, woman, black, white, Hispanic — they all share the brotherhood of the conflict.”