First to the Front: The Untold Story of Dickey Chapelle

New book about a little known war photographer.

"The untold story of Dickey Chapelle, the trailblazing female war correspondent and photojournalist who was the first woman sent to the front on Iwo Jima, journalist to photograph US armed forces in combat in Vietnam, female reporter to jump with the 101st and 82nd Airborne, and so much more."​

Thanks for bringing this to our attention. I've read a number of books about photography in the Vietnam War (Horst Faas, Larry Burrows, etc.) and had heard of Dickey Chapelle and her skill and bravery, so I'll certainly enjoy reading about her at center stage of the telling.

"Being of an age...", and in infantry, i was in the less picturesque areas, south and west and 4 years after chapelle. I knew of the her work, reputation, and the great respect the marines had for her. nobody wins in war, but vietnam was the worst of it -

jvo said:

"Being of an age...", and in infantry, i was in the less picturesque areas, south and west and 4 years after chapelle. I knew of the her work, reputation, and the great respect the marines had for her. nobody wins in war, but vietnam was the worst of it -

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Thanks for this testimony, jvo.

One thing that does come up often about the Vietnam war was is indeed how much respect soldiers had for the photographers who wanted to bring the real story home.

jvo said:

"Being of an age...", and in infantry, i was in the less picturesque areas, south and west and 4 years after chapelle. I knew of the her work, reputation, and the great respect the marines had for her. nobody wins in war, but vietnam was the worst of it -

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Imagine somebody that shot in WW2........... and then they shot in Vietnam 20 years later.
The wheels really came off in those 20 years.

I worked with a guy that was a Medic in Vietnam...............he Volunteered..... TWICE. I think he was there in 69 to 73. He carried a 45 and a shotgun. Medics did not do that in WW2


His first tour, their transport from the airstrip to their base was hit by artillery. He and another guy.....2 out of 15..... survived.

His first patrol was a harbinger.
They went out to hide, wait and then ambush a trail.
The second night out, his Sergent and a Private killed their lieutenant.
Barry said the Sargent told him........... "Doc, worry about the wounded, not the dead"
I guess the lieutenant had "John Wayne Disease"

CMoore said:

Imagine somebody that shot in WW2........... and then they shot in Vietnam 20 years later.
The wheels really came off in those 20 years.

I worked with a guy that was a Medic in Vietnam...............he Volunteered..... TWICE. I think he was there in 69 to 73. He carried a 45 and a shotgun. Medics did not do that in WW2


....

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i was going thru some old postcard exchange comments and came across your reply that somehow hadn't seen...

i was there in 69-70 and medics in our division, 25th infantry, carried no weapons. we operated in mostly small units, 3-5 guys out for a week, 10 days at a time, so may not be aware of the policy vs. reality. I would have been surprised though - we were attentive and protected medics.