Women and Children in War: Burst of Joy (Sal Veder, 1973)

Tuesday, May 10, 2011

Burst of Joy (Sal Veder, 1973)

Burst of Joy was taken by the Associated Press photographer Sal Veder at Travis Air Force Base on March 17, 1973, the day when the American soldiers returned home from the Vietnam War. After Vietnam won its independence from France with the financial help from the US, Vietnam was temporarily divided into anti-communist South Vietnam and communist North Vietnam (“The Vietnam War”). The US president John F. Kennedy sent in American troops to help South Vietnam, hoping to stop North Vietnam from taking control over South Vietnam and to eliminate the communist government in North Vietnam (“Battlefield: Timeline”). Eventually, President Nixon started a draft forcing soldiers to go to Vietnam, because not enough soldiers volunteered to go fight. Americans were extremely upset with that decision, because their family members were sent away to fight a war they did not want to be involved in. They were also angry that so many American soldiers were dying for a useless fight, because South Vietnam was clearly losing (“The Wars for Vietnam: 1945-1975”). Many soldiers were captured and put into camps; they starved and suffered (“Burst of Joy”). Eventually, students and organizations began protesting on college campuses; and in 1968, the whole country started an anti-war protest (The Wars for Vietnam: 1945-1975”). Finally, President Nixon agreed to withdraw American troops from Vietnam. By March 1973, all the American soldiers in Vietnam were released from the enemy camps and sent back home, marking the end of American involvement in the Vietnam War (“Burst of Joy”).

The Stirm family in this photo represents the families that reunited after years of separation. The teenage daughter in the center of the photograph is running to her father for a welcome-home hug, while the rest of the family follows; everyone is excited to be reunited. The girl represents the people of America, who were relieved that the unnecessary war has finally ended. After a long period of protesting, everyone in the country was thankful that the American soldiers have returned at last. While this scene symbolizes all the happy family reunions after the end of the war, it also serves as a warning for future government leaders, reminding them to reconsider before sending troops to support foreign countries. Lastly, the photo is a painful reminder of the innocent soldiers who fought and died in the Vietnam War to those families that will never reunite again.

“Battlefield: Timeline.” PBS. 10 May 2011. <http://www.pbs.org/battlefieldvietnam/timeline/index4.html>.

“Burst of Joy.” Famous Pictures: the Magazine. 28 April 2011. <http://www.famouspictures.org/mag/index.php?title=Burst_of_Joy>.

“The Wars for Vietnam: 1945-1975.” Vassar College. 10 May 2011. <http://vietnam.vassar.edu/overview/index.html>.

“Vietnam War.” Digital History. 10 May 2011. <http://www.digitalhistory.uh.edu/modules/vietnam/index.cfm>.

No comments:

Post a Comment

Introduction

Men generally get all the attention in wars, because they are usually the brave ones fighting on the battlefields; women and children are generally neglected, because they are seen as “weak” and in need of “protection.” However, many overlook the struggles and dangers the women and children face when the men are away. Women who are left behind not only have to worry about the safety of their husbands, but also have to protect the lives of their children and themselves, since they are often the victims of war; and children usually deal with the disadvantage of growing up without a father to protect and advise them. This blog will reveal a new side of war by focusing on the emotions of the women and children in time of war.

Link to Ariana's Blog

Ariana’s Femininity in Propaganda is another blog that focuses on the role of women during wars. In Ariana’s blog, she included five propagandas that concentrate on the female gender. The first propaganda, “Rosie the Riveter”, shows how the role of women in war changed. Before, women’s job was only to take care of the family while the men were away; but now, women can join the army and fight side-by-side with the men. The second photograph, "Miliciana de Waswalito", also shows how women can take on many different responsibilities. Women can now fight for their country and nurture their children; they were not the “weak” anymore.

In contrast, the next three propagandas are all encouraging men to enroll, so they can protect their women and children. The painters of “Enlist”, “Destroy This Mad Brute—Enlist”, and “Keep these hands off”, are suggesting that women and children are frail and pathetic and that they should just stay under the protective wings of their men. Although she narrowed her focus on women in war propagandas, the overall theme of Ariana’s blog is intently connected to that of this blog.

Link to Chloe's Blog

Many art pieces in Chloe’s blog, Time to Say Goodbye, are directly related to the theme women and children in war. In particular, the painting “Woman with Dead Child” has a very similar connotation to “The Mothers”. Kathe Kollwitz, the creator of both pieces, used her own heart-breaking experience to express the grief and mourning of a mother who has lost her child. The mother in the painting represents all the women who have lost their family members because of war; Kathe Kollwitz wanted the world to notice how miserable the women felt after their men left to go to war.

The photo “V-J Day in Times Square”, like “Burst of Joy”, shows how happy and relieved the people were, after the end of the war. Using Chloe’s words, the embrace “represents saying goodbye to isolation, death, and fear. While many families would never be united again, most people celebrated the return of the soldiers, because they saw the opportunity to finally start a new chapter of their lives. Even though the overall theme of Time to Say Goodbye is not closely connected to that of this blog, many art pieces in her blog are parallel to the theme of women and children in war.