2Lane Burrell was as good as his word and my accreditation duly arrived. I had my ID: my ‘non-combatant’ certificate of identity issued by the US Department of Defense. I was described as a ‘British Photojournalist’. I was entitled to go to the daily Military Assistance Command Vietnam (MACV) briefing – the ‘five o’clock follies’, as they were known – draw combat fatigues, C-rations, travel on military transport, and had the right to go into battle.
1My translation. Un peu loufouque is hard to render exactly in English as it has many nuances: burlesque, extravagant, bizarre and droll, amongst others. It’s very disconcerting to read such a portrait, with no disguise, in a published book. It’s like overhearing other people discussing you, unaware of your presence. You are confronted with your effect – the last thing anyone knows about themselves.
1Bao chi is Vietnamese for ‘journalist’ or ‘press’.
1Central Information Bureau.
1John Oberkamp was never spotted again after his capture by the Viet Cong in Vinh Hoa. No trace of his body has ever been discovered. His fate remains one of the many mysteries of the Vietnam War.
William Boyd, Sweet Caress
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