The most unforgettable images from the Vietnam War

Last updat­ed on May 17th, 2024 at 11:33 pm

The Viet­nam War was one of the most con­tentious con­flicts of the 20th cen­tu­ry. Yet, at the same time, it was one of the most well-doc­u­ment­ed, with pho­tog­ra­phers cap­tur­ing pow­er­ful and strik­ing images of the war and its impact on sol­diers and civil­ians alike.

These pho­tographs have become essen­tial to our col­lec­tive mem­o­ry of the war and helped shape our under­stand­ing of the con­flict.

In this post, we will look at some of the most unfor­get­table images of the Viet­nam War and explore the sto­ries behind them. From the hero­ism of sol­diers in bat­tle to the dev­as­tat­ing effects of the war on civil­ians, these pho­tographs cap­ture the full range of human expe­ri­ences dur­ing the Viet­nam War.


A makeshift hos­pi­tal dur­ing The Viet­nam War, 1970 
A US 9th Infantry sol­dier is sub­merged except for his rifle as he cross­es a mud­dy stream south of Saigon, 1968. Pho­to by Hen­ri Huet/AP
A Viet­nam vet­er­an throws his medals at the Capi­tol build­ing to protest the war, 1971
The lot­tery for the Viet­nam draft. Every cap­sule was a day of the year and deter­mined the order of draftees by birth­day. 1969.
Viet­namese orphans being air­lift­ed to the US for adop­tion in 1975.


Lt. Col. Robert Stirm meets his fam­i­ly after spend­ing more than five years as a POW in North Viet­nam in 1973.

War is Good Busi­ness- Invest Your Son”
Peo­ple fight to get on a plane out of South Viet­nam dur­ing the US with­draw­al on April 1, 1975.
A US Marine res­cues two Viet­namese chil­dren in Hue dur­ing the Tet Offen­sive of 1968.
Two South Viet­namese child sol­diers smoke while wait­ing for a North Viet­namese attack.
Lo Manh Hung was like­ly the youngest pho­to­jour­nal­ist of the Viet­nam War. Pho­to tak­en on Feb­ru­ary 18, 1968.
Man­grove for­est destroyed by Angen Orange, 1976.