Vietnam photographer gives his point of view

Sergeant John Geoffrey Fairley was a photographer for the Directorate of Public Relations during the Vietnam War. In March this year he was recorded on film for the Memorial’s oral history program.

Oral histories give personal insights into Defence life and deployment; this one sheds light on Fairley’s military service, the effect on him of the Vietnam War, and how he was treated on his return.

During the war Fairley spent most of his time in Nui Dat, covering the SAS, and on Operation Hammersley in the Long Hai Hills. This area was an important centre of Viet Cong resistance, and many Australians serving there were killed or wounded.

In this excerpt from the oral history interview Fairley discusses some of the photographs he took during his deployment. 

The Memorial currently holds in excess of 600 images and negatives, as well as film footage, relating to Fairley and his documentation of the Vietnam War.