Iconic AP Vietnam War photos to go on view at Huntsville Museum of Art

“Vietnam: The Real War, Photographs from The Associated Press,” features more than 70 AP images illuminating the long and divisive war that profoundly shaped American history.

To cover the Vietnam War, AP gathered a group of superb photojournalists in its Saigon bureau, creating one of the greatest photographic legacies of the 20th century. AP won six Pulitzer Prizes for its coverage in Vietnam, including four for photography.

From Malcolm Browne’s horrific photograph of an elderly Buddhist monk, voluntarily set ablaze during a protest against the South Vietnamese government, to Nick Ut’s famous picture of a 9-year-old girl running scorched and naked from a napalm attack, the selected images capture the drama and tragedy of people caught in war. Other AP photographers represented in the exhibit include Horst Faas and Henri Huet. 

AP Director of Photography J. David Ake will deliver a lecture at a preview event at the museum on June 6. Organized by AP and the Huntsville Museum of Art, “Vietnam: The Real War, Photographs from The Associated Press” will remain on view through Oct. 6 in the museum's Grisham Gallery.

AP published "Vietnam: The Real War," a collection of more than 300 images from AP archives documenting the conflict, in 2013.