LongHome

Like most citizens asked to go to war, the typical Vietnam War veteran was perhaps 19 or 22 when placed in combat, instructed to fight what later proved a poorly conceived unwinnable war. In time, the Vietnam War would divide an already fractured America, complicating the post-war transition for many of these soldiers. For some, the war experience proved the most poignant time in their once young lives; while for others, time overseas proved a brief, nearly forgotten chapter. Mitch wanted to understand the essence of these disparate individual journeys looked at more than a half century home - what each remembered or buried deep, how they coped with PTSD and the ravages of Agent Orange, how their perspective, and remembrance, was shaped and re-shaped by time. After sitting in living rooms, kitchens, on porches and barstools, taking in complex and conflicted personal stories - frequently told with more reluctance than bravado - Mitch gained new insight into war, and a deeper empathy for those asked to do the fighting.

Accompanying the poignant words selected from conversations held across the United States are Mitch’s portraits, revealing the rawness and vulnerability of the moment, often reflecting defiance, and a certain pridefulness. Each portrait was taken handheld, without secondary lighting sources or props, presented in black and white.