Dang Van Phuoc Dies at 90; Intrepid Photojournalist in Vietnam War

Dang Van Phuoc’s frontline photography defined a generation of Vietnam War reporting for The Associated Press. He died May 23 in Newport Beach, California, at age 90. From 1965 to 1975 he roved South Vietnam— Da Nang, Saigon, Hue, Khe Sanh— and even joined a daylight patrol toward Haiphong aboard the heavy cruiser Newport News. Horst Faas, AP’s chief photographer, called him a 'secret weapon' for frontline coverage. His most memorable images included a U.S. soldier assisting a frail refugee, a cratered Ho Bo Woods scene after a B-52 strike, and a South Vietnamese marine pressing a knife to a suspected Vietcong fighter’s throat. He was wounded multiple times, losing his right eye in 1969 near Da Nang and suffering shrapnel and a chest injury, yet he returned to dangerous assignments. Nick Ut, a fellow AP photographer, recalled Phuoc’s determination and said he would rather shoot than quit, even at great risk. Phuoc replaced Huynh Thanh My after My was killed in 1965 and worked with peers including David Hume Kennerly during Vietnam assignments. AP’s obituary noted that his photographs gave him a voice to speak to the world.