Dick Durrance, American, born 1942
Boots, Two Bits Base Camp, 50k.NE of An Khe, July, 1967
July 1967
Gelatin silver print
Image: 12 5/8 x 18 9/16 in.
Gift of Jeffrey Hinman, Class of 1968, in memory of William Smoyer, Class of 1967, and J. Robert Peacock, Class of 1968; PH.2004.45.2
Photograph by DASPO photographer Dick Durrance. © 1968 Dick Durrance. All Rights Reserved.
This photograph, taken near An Khe, centers on a solitary pair of American army boots resting on burlap sacks. The haunting nature of the photograph lies in our uncertainty about the boots’ owner. The boots are worn and crusted with dirt, signifying that they have been used frequently. They could be airing out after battle, or they could be the sole physical reminder of a life lost in conflict. The impenetrable shadow behind them created by the angled planks of wood adds a sense of foreboding and an almost unnatural tension to the seemingly benign image. Boots have also become an archetypal symbol for active deployment, as captured by the phrase “boots on the ground.“ The expression signifies American involvement in an overseas conflict and the cultural value ascribed to a physical, human presence abroad.
Dick Durrance, a Dartmouth alumnus, was drafted into the Vietnam War and assigned to work as a photojournalist. After his tour in Vietnam, Durrance became a photographer for National Geographicmagazine.