Robert Capa, a notorious ladies’ man, met one of the
most appealing and popular movie stars of the 1940s, Ingrid Bergman. They began
to have an affair that would last for several years.[1] A
few years after the affair ended, Capa began to face a middle age crisis. He
was “also beginning to tire of constantly having to maintain the Capa legend,
acting the impulsive Don Juan, and wearing his eternally ‘debonair mask.’”[2]
Needing another adventure, in “early February 1954…Capa received an offer he couldn’t refuse. A Japanese publishing conglomerate, Mainichi Press, invited him to spend several weeks photographing Japan.”[3] Warmly received by the Japanese, Capa enjoyed his time there.[4] However, enticed by the war action in French Indochina, he became interested in pursuing another dangerous mission. He needed another adventure and some money, so he accepted the assignment to cover the breaking story in French Vietnam for Life magazine.[5] Taking the place of the war photographer in French Vietnam because the mother of the photographer was in ill health, Life magazine asked Capa to take his place. John Morris expressed to Capa that it was not required of him. Bob Capa replied that he “‘did not accept this assignment out of a sense of duty, but because I really wanted to…I know that Indochina will probably only lead to frustration, but that still deserves a story. So I’m going.’”[6]
The tensions growing in Vietnam had been brewing for several years and by “1954 war-weary France gave up its claims on Vietnam.”[7] Other powers ruled Vietnam for so long that by the end of World War II, the Vietnamese people were ready to establish their own independence and rule their own country.[8] One of the most crucial battles in the Vietnamese’s fight for liberation from France was the French defeat at the Battle of Dien Bien Phu.[9] On May 9, 1954, two days after the French defeat at Dien Bien Phu, Bob Capa “arrived in Hanoi, in French Indo-China. The fall of Dien Bien Phu, which had caused headlines across the globe, meant Capa would inevitably see action.”[10] Indeed, he did see action. Tragically, on May 25, 1954, Capa died at the age of forty from stepping on a landmine while trying to capture some of the fighting in French Vietnam.[11]
Robert “Capa’s greatest legacy is not an institution, nor a medal, nor the inspirational example he set. It is, as with any photographer, his photographs. ‘During his short time on earth he lived and loved a great deal,’ Cornell wrote in April 1999 of his brother. ‘What he left behind is the story of his unique voyage and a visual testimony affirming his own faith in humankind’s capacity to endure and occasionally to overcome.’”[12] Robert Capa’s heroism and risky adventures to capture important images of modern history on film will remain his greatest legacy. His war pictures depict scenes of valor and defeat, and he “set a standard of bravery and compassion for all war photographers who have followed him.”[13]
[1] Alex Kershaw, Blood and Champagne: The Life and Times of Robert Capa (New York: DaCapo Press, 2002), 158.
[2] Ibid., 232.
[3] Ibid., 239.
[4] Richard Whelan, Robert Capa: A Biography (New York: Alfred A. Knopf, 1985), 293.
[5] Ibid., 295.
[6] Bernard Lebrun and Michel Lefebvre, Robert Capa: The Paris Years 1933-1954 (New York: Abrams, 2011), 248.
[7] Kevin Hillstrom and Laurie Collier Hillstrom, Vietnam War: Primary Sources, ed. Diane Sawinski (Detroit: UXL, 2001), 1.
[8] Ibid., 3.
[9] Ibid., 8.
[10] Kershaw, Blood and Champagne, 243.
[11] Whelan, Robert Capa, 299.
[12] Kershaw, Blood and Champagne, 255.
[13] Whelan, Robert Capa, 302.
Needing another adventure, in “early February 1954…Capa received an offer he couldn’t refuse. A Japanese publishing conglomerate, Mainichi Press, invited him to spend several weeks photographing Japan.”[3] Warmly received by the Japanese, Capa enjoyed his time there.[4] However, enticed by the war action in French Indochina, he became interested in pursuing another dangerous mission. He needed another adventure and some money, so he accepted the assignment to cover the breaking story in French Vietnam for Life magazine.[5] Taking the place of the war photographer in French Vietnam because the mother of the photographer was in ill health, Life magazine asked Capa to take his place. John Morris expressed to Capa that it was not required of him. Bob Capa replied that he “‘did not accept this assignment out of a sense of duty, but because I really wanted to…I know that Indochina will probably only lead to frustration, but that still deserves a story. So I’m going.’”[6]
The tensions growing in Vietnam had been brewing for several years and by “1954 war-weary France gave up its claims on Vietnam.”[7] Other powers ruled Vietnam for so long that by the end of World War II, the Vietnamese people were ready to establish their own independence and rule their own country.[8] One of the most crucial battles in the Vietnamese’s fight for liberation from France was the French defeat at the Battle of Dien Bien Phu.[9] On May 9, 1954, two days after the French defeat at Dien Bien Phu, Bob Capa “arrived in Hanoi, in French Indo-China. The fall of Dien Bien Phu, which had caused headlines across the globe, meant Capa would inevitably see action.”[10] Indeed, he did see action. Tragically, on May 25, 1954, Capa died at the age of forty from stepping on a landmine while trying to capture some of the fighting in French Vietnam.[11]
Robert “Capa’s greatest legacy is not an institution, nor a medal, nor the inspirational example he set. It is, as with any photographer, his photographs. ‘During his short time on earth he lived and loved a great deal,’ Cornell wrote in April 1999 of his brother. ‘What he left behind is the story of his unique voyage and a visual testimony affirming his own faith in humankind’s capacity to endure and occasionally to overcome.’”[12] Robert Capa’s heroism and risky adventures to capture important images of modern history on film will remain his greatest legacy. His war pictures depict scenes of valor and defeat, and he “set a standard of bravery and compassion for all war photographers who have followed him.”[13]
[1] Alex Kershaw, Blood and Champagne: The Life and Times of Robert Capa (New York: DaCapo Press, 2002), 158.
[2] Ibid., 232.
[3] Ibid., 239.
[4] Richard Whelan, Robert Capa: A Biography (New York: Alfred A. Knopf, 1985), 293.
[5] Ibid., 295.
[6] Bernard Lebrun and Michel Lefebvre, Robert Capa: The Paris Years 1933-1954 (New York: Abrams, 2011), 248.
[7] Kevin Hillstrom and Laurie Collier Hillstrom, Vietnam War: Primary Sources, ed. Diane Sawinski (Detroit: UXL, 2001), 1.
[8] Ibid., 3.
[9] Ibid., 8.
[10] Kershaw, Blood and Champagne, 243.
[11] Whelan, Robert Capa, 299.
[12] Kershaw, Blood and Champagne, 255.
[13] Whelan, Robert Capa, 302.