A Moment of Catharsis
An LMU professor’s photographs from the Vietnam War help spark healing more than 30 years later.
By Francis Villalpando and Joseph Wakelee-Lynch
Photos and captions are by Howard S. Lavick
When Howard S. Lavick, associate professor of film and television production, returned home from the Vietnam War, he packed away his uniform along with his memories as a war photographer. “Like many Vietnam vets, I just wanted to get back to ‘regular life,’” Lavick said. Little did he know that more than 30 years later his images would engage a community in an overdue healing process.
For the past 24 years, Lavick has taught film and television production at Loyola Marymount University, and he has served as chair, director and acting dean of the School of Film and Television. This past May, Lavick entered five photographs in “Memories of Vietnam 1955 – 1975,” a juried exhibition organized by the Viet Art Center in Garden Grove, Calif. Lavick’s images captured scenes of everyday life. His photo titled “Sweet Happiness,” showing a shy, young Vietnamese couple, was unanimously voted the first-place winner by a group of judges that included Pulitzer Prize-winning AP journalist Nick Ut.
In 1971, Lavick was a photographer with the 25th Infantry Division in Vietnam. He also worked as a writer and photographer for Pacific Stars and Stripes, a daily U.S. military newspaper. He traveled extensively to cover field operations, ceremonial presentations and hospital visits. “I would cover a combat mission one day and be called back to cover an event at the Presidential Palace in Saigon the next day,” he said.
When not on assignment, Lavick took many opportunities to get to know the Vietnamese people. He was often invited to families’ homes, where he frequently captured his best stories and most humanizing war images.
“These images may not be as dramatic as the war scenes, but they do show what everyday life was like for the people of Vietnam amidst the chaos of war,” Lavick said. “In their own quiet way, these people give a sense of hope for a better future.”
When the “Memories of Vietnam” photographs were exhibited earlier this year, Lavick considered them “cathartic” for his fellow veterans. A large percentage of military personnel, he explained, were stationed away from combat zones and served in support of troops. They often interacted with Vietnamese people in local villages or on the streets in cities and towns. But like those in combat, these veterans returned to a U.S. environment where few people wished to talk about Vietnam.
“They had packed a lot of this away in their lives. … For a lot of veterans, the photos are a way of ‘reconnecting’ with that part of Vietnam that didn’t have to do with the war,” Lavick explained. The “Memories of Vietnam” exhibit, he said, was an occasion of healing between Southern California’s South Vietnamese community and American veterans. In fact, building bridges between the Vietnamese-Americans and the broader American community is part of the Viet Art Center’s mission.
That Lavick’s photos have such an effect should come as no surprise, because three decades ago Lavick wanted to accomplish more than simply documenting events through his work.
“To me, it was important to capture some of the normality, a shred of humanity, and humanize the people instead of dehumanizing them,” Lavick said. “If my work touched people by helping them take a different look on the experience, I am grateful.”