Wikipedia

Larry Burrows

Henry Frank Leslie Burrows(29 May 1926 – 10 February 1971), known asLarry Burrows,was an Englishphotojournalist.He spent 9 years covering theVietnam War.[1]

Larry Burrows
Burrows in February 1967
Born
Henry Frank Leslie Burrows

(1926-05-29)29 May 1926
London, United Kingdom
Died10 February 1971(1971-02-10)(aged 44)
Laos
NationalityEnglish
OccupationPhotojournalist
EmployerLife Magazine
Known forphotography

Early career

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Burrows began his career in the art department of theDaily Expressnewspaper in 1942 in London. He learnedphotographyand moved to work in thedarkroomsof the Keystone photography agency andLife Magazine.[2]It was here that Burrows started to be called Larry to avoid confusion with another Henry working in the same office.[3]It was not unknown for him to redo a whole day of work in order to secure the best result.[4]

Some accounts blame Burrows for melting photographerRobert Capa'sD-Day negativesin the drying cabinet,[5]but in fact it was another technician, according toJohn G. Morris.[6]

Photojournalism

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Burrows had an early success with his coverage of the demolition of theHeligolandU-Boat Pens in 1947. Working for theAssociated Press,Burrows was a passenger in aDe Havilland Dragon Rapide.Officially they were supposed to go no closer than 9 miles (14 km) to the island. However, Burrows persuaded the pilot to fly over at only 500 feet (150 m), knocking out the windowperspexwhen it obscured his shot. For his efforts he was able to take eleven images and earned himself two pages inLifemagazine.[7]

Burrows would go on to cover stories inSuez,Lebanon,Cyprus,Central Africa,andVietnam.[4]

He was described inThe Timesas an "equipment man" and quoted as saying, "When I take the lot with me there are twenty-six cases".[7]

In early 1971, Burrows was elected afellowof theRoyal Photographic Society.[8]

Vietnam

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See also:Vietnam War

Burrows went on to become a photographer and covered the war inVietnamfrom 1962 until his death in 1971.[9]

One of Burrows' most famous images was published first in aLifemagazine article on 16 April 1965 namedOne Ride with Yankee Papa 13,about a mission on 31 March 1965.[10]

Flying in a helicopter with the US Marines' Medium Helicopter Squadron 163, Burrows captured the death of Yankee Papa 3 co-pilot Lieutenant James Magel. At thelanding zoneMagel was assisted to Yankee Papa 13, where airborne door gunner Lance C. Farley gave first aid. It was to no avail and Burrows captured Farley's distress at the loss of his comrade.[11][12]

Of the photograph Burrows said:[11]

It's not easy to photograph a man dying in the arms of a fellow countryman... Was I simply capitalizing on the other men's grief? I concluded that what I was doing would penetrate the hearts of those at home who are simply too indifferent.

— Larry Burrows

Reaching Outwas another famous image. It featuresUS MarineGunnery Sgt.Jeremiah Purdie, who while wounded, is seen reaching out to wounded Lance Corporal Roger Dale Treadway.[13][14]

Life.com editor Ben Cosgrove said of the photograph:[14]

Larry Burrows made a photograph that, for generations, has served as the most indelible, searing illustration of the horrors inherent in that long, divisive war — and, by implication, in all wars.

— Ben Cosgrove

Reaching Outwas taken on 5 October 1966 after the Marines were ambushed on Mutter's Ridge. However, the image was not featured inLifeuntil February 1971, following Burrows' death.[4][14]

Death

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Burrows died on 10 February 1971 with fellow photojournalistsHenri Huet(Associated Press), Kent Potter (United Press International) and Keisaburo Shimamoto (freelancerwithNewsweek),[15]when their helicopter was shot down over theHo Chi Minh TrailinLaos[9]as the group coveredOperation Lam Son 719.[15]

Following his death theManaging EditorofLife,Ralph Graves,said of Burrows:[4]

I do not think it is demeaning to any other photographer in the world for me to say that Larry Burrows was the single bravest and most dedicated war photographer I know of.

— Ralph Graves

Of his work, Burrows himself said, "I cannot afford the luxury of thinking about what could happen to me".[4]

In 1985, the Laurence Miller Gallery in New York published a portfolio of Burrows' prints, with the assistance of his son Russell Burrows.[16]In 2002, Burrows' posthumous bookVietnamwas awarded thePrix Nadaraward.[17]

In 2008 the remains of Burrows and fellow photographers Huet, Potter and Shimamoto were honoured and interred at theNewseuminWashington, D.C.[3]

JournalistDavid Halberstampaid tribute to Burrows in the 1997 bookRequiem: By the Photographers Who Died in Vietnam and Indochina:[18]

I must mention Larry Burrows in particular. To us younger men who had not yet earned reputations, he was a sainted figure. He was a truly beautiful man, modest, graceful, a star who never behaved like one. He was generous to all, a man who gave lessons to his colleagues not just on how to take photographs but, more important, on how to behave like a human being, how to be both colleague and mentor. Our experience of the star system in photography was, until we met him, not necessarily a happy one; all too often talent and ego seemed to come together in equal amounts. We were touched by Larry: How could someone so talented be so graceful?

— David Halberstam,Requiem: By the Photographers Who Died in Vietnam and Indochina

In December 2019, the Newseum was closed due to financial difficulties and the remains of Burrows, Huet, Potter and Shimamoto were disinterred. Their remains are currently stored at theDefense POW/MIA Accounting Agencylab atOffutt Air Force Baseawaiting a permanent burial place.[19]

In 2021, Burrows was posthumously inducted into theInternational Photography Hall of Fame and Museum.[20]

See also

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References

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  1. ^"Larry Burrows (British, 1926 - 1971) (Getty Museum)".The J. Paul Getty in Los Angeles.Retrieved2 June2019.
  2. ^"Larry Burrows".International Center of Photography.3 March 2016.Retrieved1 June2019.
  3. ^abĐá, Gary Jones/ Suối."This Girl Tròn: A Friendship Born of the Vietnam War".Time.Archivedfrom the original on 13 September 2017.Retrieved1 June2019.
  4. ^abcdethe editors of Life; introduction by John Loengard; a reminiscence by Gordon Parks (2009).The great Life photographers.London: Thames & Hudson.ISBN9780500288368.OCLC503662130.{{cite book}}:|last=has generic name (help)CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
  5. ^Flying Short Course: Evolving Newspapers Pushing Photojournalists For VideoArchived2008-01-22 at theWayback Machine
  6. ^Morris blames it on a young developer named Dennis Banks. John G. Morris, "Get the picture, A personal history of photojournalism", Random House Inc, N-Y 1998
  7. ^ab"Mr Larry Burrows".The Times.No. 58097. 12 February 1971. p. 14.
  8. ^Homsby, Michael (12 February 1971). "British war photographer among four feared dead as helicopter is shot down in Laos".The Times.No. 58097. p. 6.
  9. ^abLoke, Margarett (13 March 1998)."Photography Review; The Vietnam War's Costs, Shown Fearlessly by a Gentle Casualty".The New York Times.Retrieved27 November2018.
  10. ^Cosgrove, Ben."Sudden Death in Vietnam: 'One Ride With Yankee Papa 13'".Time.Archivedfrom the original on 3 July 2015.Retrieved2 June2019.
  11. ^ab1001 photographs you must see before you die.London:Cassell Illustrated.2017.ISBN978-1844039173.OCLC986847064.
  12. ^Hendrickson, Paul(15 September 1996). "Vietnam Spring".The Washington Post.
  13. ^"The Virtual Wall".
  14. ^abcAmaria, Kainaz (27 January 2013)."An Iconic 'Life' Image You Must See".NPR.org.Retrieved2 June2019.
  15. ^abPyle, Richard (2 April 2008)."Saigon Quartet".Vanity Fair.Retrieved1 June2019.
  16. ^"Vietnam Photo Exhibit on Display at Chrysler".Newport News Daily Press.29 September 1985. p. I-11.
  17. ^"Et aussi... Le prix Nadar à Vietnam, de Larry Burrows"[And also... The Prix Nadar to Vietnam, by Larry Burrows].L'Humanité(in French). 23 November 2002.Retrieved27 November2018.
  18. ^"Larry Burrows".World Press Photo.Retrieved2 June2019.
  19. ^Liewer, Steve (16 February 2021)."Remains of 5 Vietnam War photojournalists killed in copter crash wait at Offutt for permanent burial".Omaha World-Herald.Retrieved12 May2022.
  20. ^"Larry Burrows".International Photography Hall of Fame.Retrieved28 July2022.
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