Catherine Leroy
Encyclopedia
Catherine Leroy was a French-born
photojournalist and war photographer
, whose stark images of battle illustrated the story of the Vietnam War
in the pages of Life magazine
and other publications.
, and decided she wanted to travel to Vietnam to "give war a human face." At the age of 21 booked a one way ticket to Laos
in 1966, with just one Leica M2 and $100 in her pocket.
On arrival in Saigon Leroy met the photographer Horst Faas
, bureau chief of the Associated Press
. A year later she became the first accredited journalist to participate in a combat parachute jump, joining the 173d Airborne Brigade in Operation Junction City
. Two weeks after the battle for Hill 881, she was wounded with a Marine unit near http://books.google.com/books?id=L1YEAAAAMBAJ&lpg=PA22&dq=%22catherine%20leroy%22&as_pt=MAGAZINES&rview=1&pg=PA22#v=onepage&q=%22catherine%20leroy%22&f=false the demilitarized zone
. In 1968, during the Tet Offensive, Leroy was captured by the North Vietnamese Army. She managed to talk her way out and emerged as the first newsperson to take photos of North Vietnamese Army Regulars http://books.google.com/books?id=N0kEAAAAMBAJ&lpg=PA3&dq=%22catherine%20leroy%22&as_pt=MAGAZINES&rview=1&pg=RA1-PA22#v=onepage&q=%22catherine%20leroy%22&f=false behind their own lines. The story made the cover of Life Magazine.
Her most famous photo, Corpsman In Anguish, (1967) was one of three taken in quick succession portraying U.S. Marine corpsman Vernon Wike. In the pictures the soldier is crouched in tall grass during the battle for Hill 881 near Khe Sanh
. He is cradling his comrade who has been shot while smoke from the battle rises into the air behind them. In the first frame Wike has two hands on his friends chest, trying to staunch the wound. In the second, he is trying to find a heartbeat. In the third frame, "Corpsman In Anguish", he has just realised the man is dead.
After Vietnam, she covered conflicts in several countries, including Northern Ireland, Cyprus, Somalia, Afghanistan, Iraq, Iran, Libya and Lebanon. After her experiences in Beirut she swore off war coverage.
Leroy originally sold her work to United Press International
and The Associated Press
http://books.google.com/books?id=N0kEAAAAMBAJ&lpg=PA3&dq=%22catherine%20leroy%22&as_pt=MAGAZINES&rview=1&pg=PA3#v=onepage&q=%22catherine%20leroy%22&f=false, and later worked for Sipa Press and Gamma. In 1972, Leroy shot and directed Operation Last Patrol, a film about Ron Kovic
and the anti-war Vietnam veterans. Leroy co-authored the book God Cried, about the siege of West Beirut by the Israeli army in 1982.
She lived in the Hotel Chelsea
in the late 1980s.
Later in life, she founded and ran a vintage clothing store, Piece Unique, with a website.
She died in Santa Monica
, California
, following a battle with lung cancer.
award for Best Reporting Requiring Exceptional Courage and Enterprise Abroad, Picture of the Year, The Sigma Delta Chi and The Art Director's Club of New York. She was the first woman to receive the Robert Capa Gold Medal
Award, for her coverage of the civil war in Lebanon
, in 1976. In 1997, she was the recipient of an Honor Award for Distinguished Service in Journalism from the University of Missouri
.
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
photojournalist and war photographer
War Photographer
War Photographer is a documentary by Christian Frei about the photographer James Nachtwey. As well as telling the story of an iconic man in the field of war photography, the film addresses the broader scope of ideas common to all those involved in war journalism, as well as the issues that they...
, whose stark images of battle illustrated the story of the Vietnam War
Vietnam War
The Vietnam War was a Cold War-era military conflict that occurred in Vietnam, Laos, and Cambodia from 1 November 1955 to the fall of Saigon on 30 April 1975. This war followed the First Indochina War and was fought between North Vietnam, supported by its communist allies, and the government of...
in the pages of Life magazine
Life (magazine)
Life generally refers to three American magazines:*A humor and general interest magazine published from 1883 to 1936. Time founder Henry Luce bought the magazine in 1936 solely so that he could acquire the rights to its name....
and other publications.
Life
Catherine was brought up in a convent in Paris. She was moved by images of war she had seen in Paris MatchParis Match
Paris Match is a French weekly magazine. It covers major national and international news along with celebrity lifestyle features. It was founded in 1949 by the industrialist Jean Prouvost....
, and decided she wanted to travel to Vietnam to "give war a human face." At the age of 21 booked a one way ticket to Laos
Laos
Laos Lao: ສາທາລະນະລັດ ປະຊາທິປະໄຕ ປະຊາຊົນລາວ Sathalanalat Paxathipatai Paxaxon Lao, officially the Lao People's Democratic Republic, is a landlocked country in Southeast Asia, bordered by Burma and China to the northwest, Vietnam to the east, Cambodia to the south and Thailand to the west...
in 1966, with just one Leica M2 and $100 in her pocket.
On arrival in Saigon Leroy met the photographer Horst Faas
Horst Faas
Horst Faas is a photo-journalist and two-time Pulitzer Prize winner. He is best-known for his images of the Vietnam War.-Life:...
, bureau chief of the Associated Press
Associated Press
The Associated Press is an American news agency. The AP is a cooperative owned by its contributing newspapers, radio and television stations in the United States, which both contribute stories to the AP and use material written by its staff journalists...
. A year later she became the first accredited journalist to participate in a combat parachute jump, joining the 173d Airborne Brigade in Operation Junction City
Operation Junction City
Operation Junction City was an 82-day military operation conducted by United States and Republic of Vietnam forces begun on 22 February 1967 during the Vietnam War. It was the largest U.S. airborne operation since Operation Market Garden during World War II, the only major airborne operation of...
. Two weeks after the battle for Hill 881, she was wounded with a Marine unit near http://books.google.com/books?id=L1YEAAAAMBAJ&lpg=PA22&dq=%22catherine%20leroy%22&as_pt=MAGAZINES&rview=1&pg=PA22#v=onepage&q=%22catherine%20leroy%22&f=false the demilitarized zone
Vietnamese Demilitarized Zone
The Vietnamese Demilitarized Zone was established as a dividing line between North and South Vietnam as a result of the First Indochina War.During the Second Indochina War , it became important as the battleground demarcation separating North Vietnamese territory from South Vietnamese territory.-...
. In 1968, during the Tet Offensive, Leroy was captured by the North Vietnamese Army. She managed to talk her way out and emerged as the first newsperson to take photos of North Vietnamese Army Regulars http://books.google.com/books?id=N0kEAAAAMBAJ&lpg=PA3&dq=%22catherine%20leroy%22&as_pt=MAGAZINES&rview=1&pg=RA1-PA22#v=onepage&q=%22catherine%20leroy%22&f=false behind their own lines. The story made the cover of Life Magazine.
Her most famous photo, Corpsman In Anguish, (1967) was one of three taken in quick succession portraying U.S. Marine corpsman Vernon Wike. In the pictures the soldier is crouched in tall grass during the battle for Hill 881 near Khe Sanh
Khe Sanh
Khe Sanh is the district capital of Hướng Hoá District, Quảng Trị Province, Vietnam, located 63 km west of Đông Hà.Khe Sanh Combat Base was a United States Marine Corps outpost in South Vietnam used during the Vietnam War. The airstrip was built in September 1962...
. He is cradling his comrade who has been shot while smoke from the battle rises into the air behind them. In the first frame Wike has two hands on his friends chest, trying to staunch the wound. In the second, he is trying to find a heartbeat. In the third frame, "Corpsman In Anguish", he has just realised the man is dead.
After Vietnam, she covered conflicts in several countries, including Northern Ireland, Cyprus, Somalia, Afghanistan, Iraq, Iran, Libya and Lebanon. After her experiences in Beirut she swore off war coverage.
Leroy originally sold her work to United Press International
United Press International
United Press International is a once-major international news agency, whose newswires, photo, news film and audio services provided news material to thousands of newspapers, magazines and radio and television stations for most of the twentieth century...
and The Associated Press
Associated Press
The Associated Press is an American news agency. The AP is a cooperative owned by its contributing newspapers, radio and television stations in the United States, which both contribute stories to the AP and use material written by its staff journalists...
http://books.google.com/books?id=N0kEAAAAMBAJ&lpg=PA3&dq=%22catherine%20leroy%22&as_pt=MAGAZINES&rview=1&pg=PA3#v=onepage&q=%22catherine%20leroy%22&f=false, and later worked for Sipa Press and Gamma. In 1972, Leroy shot and directed Operation Last Patrol, a film about Ron Kovic
Ron Kovic
Ronald Lawrence Kovic is an anti-war activist, veteran and writer who was paralyzed in the Vietnam War. He is best known as the author of the memoir Born on the Fourth of July, which was made into an Academy Award–winning movie directed by Oliver Stone, with Tom Cruise playing Kovic...
and the anti-war Vietnam veterans. Leroy co-authored the book God Cried, about the siege of West Beirut by the Israeli army in 1982.
She lived in the Hotel Chelsea
Hotel Chelsea
The Hotel Chelsea, also known as the Chelsea Hotel, or simply the Chelsea, is a historic New York City hotel and landmark, known primarily for its history of notable residents...
in the late 1980s.
Later in life, she founded and ran a vintage clothing store, Piece Unique, with a website.
She died in Santa Monica
Santa Mônica
Santa Mônica is a town and municipality in the state of Paraná in the Southern Region of Brazil.-References:...
, California
California
California is a state located on the West Coast of the United States. It is by far the most populous U.S. state, and the third-largest by land area...
, following a battle with lung cancer.
Awards
Leroy won numerous awards for her work, including the George PolkGeorge Polk
George Polk was an American journalist for CBS who disappeared in Greece and was found dead a few days later on Sunday May 16, 1948, shot at point-blank range in the back of the head, and with hands and feet tied. Polk was covering the civil war in Greece between the right wing government and...
award for Best Reporting Requiring Exceptional Courage and Enterprise Abroad, Picture of the Year, The Sigma Delta Chi and The Art Director's Club of New York. She was the first woman to receive the Robert Capa Gold Medal
Robert Capa Gold Medal
The Robert Capa Gold Medal is an award for "best published photographic reporting from abroad requiring exceptional courage and enterprise". It is awarded annually by the Overseas Press Club of America . It was created in honor of the war photographer Robert Capa...
Award, for her coverage of the civil war in Lebanon
Lebanese Civil War
The Lebanese Civil War was a multifaceted civil war in Lebanon. The war lasted from 1975 to 1990 and resulted in an estimated 150,000 to 230,000 civilian fatalities. Another one million people were wounded, and today approximately 350,000 people remain displaced. There was also a mass exodus of...
, in 1976. In 1997, she was the recipient of an Honor Award for Distinguished Service in Journalism from the University of Missouri
University of Missouri
The University of Missouri System is a state university system providing centralized administration for four universities, a health care system, an extension program, five research and technology parks, and a publishing press. More than 64,000 students are currently enrolled at its four campuses...
.