VAN ES International Wake
Date: October 9, 2009 7:00 PM
Tim Heald and Penny Byrne are organising a celebratory wake in his honour at the Frontline Club on the evening of Friday October 9th. There'll be a cash bar and an opportunity to buy food for those who want. Doors open at 7pm and close when the last one is left standing. Bring youselves, some good van Es stories bearing in mind that the Frontline is the nearest thing London has to the FCC in Hong Kong which was latterly van Es' spiritual home.
Tags for this entry: Hugh Van Es
2 Comments
This is a copy of the email I sent to the club on the day of the event. Haven't seen anything further about the event and didn't receive any feedback.
In the fall of 1969 I was a US Army combat photographer in the 11th ACR based at Quon Loi. I have no idea where the officers went for their libations, but, for those of us enlisted men who were allowed in, the Air Rifle Platoon's club was the best place to drink.
One day I walked into the ARP club to find a curious group of civilians sitting around a table drinking beers. They wore mismatched uniforms and carried banged up cameras. Among them was Hugh Van Es. It was the first time I had encountered actual news photographers. I was in awe of these guys. I thought they were the coolest guys on the planet and I wanted to be one of them. To my surprise, they let me.
We sat around the table and talked photography and Vietnam. I realized that day what I wanted my life to be. From those photographers I discovered that the camera could take me wherever I wanted to go. I'm sure that Hugh would have subjected me to a fusillade of f-bombs had I ever told him how important he was in influencing the course of my life.
Years later, living in Hong Kong, I was honored to be able to join Annie and Hugh at their table for lunch nearly everyday. But after lunch was the best, after the first Nyeah Nyeah Nyeah (see below). It was then that the best stories would flow. There was nothing better than those 'lost' afternoons.
Cheers, JG
P.S. For the uninitiated a Nyeah Nyeah Nyeah is an Armagnac and coffee.
John Giannini
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I will be in Cuba at this time but will have a good shot of fine single malt for the occassion.
My ride on a Minsk motorbike through Indochina earlier this year to highlight the Cluster Bomb issue was woven with thoughts of those who suffered and died and still do as a result of such callous war mongering. Based in Thailand I have met many journalists of that era although not Hugh directly.
On hearing of his death I felt he was part of what Project Pineapple is hoping to achieve, publicity for man's inhumanity. I humbly hung Hugh's pictures on the blog: projectpineapple.blogspot.com
Have a thoughtful evening.
Best wishes
Robert R Kinnear