Meditation on 2,063,500 deaths

A photograph of Vietnamese children printed across 24 small leaves of Vietnamese note paper gifted to the artist during the Vietnam War. Inscribed in pencil are symbols marking the casualties from the war, totalling 2,063,500. Terry Eichler served during the Vietnam War as an interpreter with the Mobile Advisory Team (MAT). His unit was stationed at a military compound on the outskirts of the village of Suoi Nghe, approximately 3 kms north of Nui Dat, the Australian Task force base. The MAT comprised of 6 or 7 members at any one time, and were responsible for patrolling the District of Duc Than and training the 626 Regional Force Company (ARVN), which comprised of Vietnamese officers and Montagnard soldiers from the surrounding area, and their families. Training involved weapons and tactics, day patrols and ambushes at night. Despite an Australian military presence, they were unsuccessful at stopping the Viet Cong from infiltrating the hamlets or gaining the complete trust of the villagers.

The photograph was taken while Eichler was on patrol in the Suoi Nghe village. The children stand in front of the charcoal kilns from which the villagers eked out a meager existence. For Eichler, it personifies the loss of innocence during the war, literally and metaphorically. Each hand-drawn symbol symbolises 50 deaths, delineating the losses from different nationalities. Eichler describes the lengthy process of drawing each symbol by hand as being meditative, like paying homage to the dead.

A small pencil study in the bottom right corner depicts a mother and her two children.