Hirashiki - On the Frontlines of the Television War

Published in the United States of America and Great Britain in 2017 by

CASEMATE PUBLISHERS

1950 Lawrence Road, Havertown, PA 19083, USA

and

The Old Music Hall, 106108 Cowley Road, Oxford OX4 1JE, UK

Copyright 2017 Yasutsune Hirashiki

Hardcover Edition: ISBN 978-1-61200-472-3

Digital Edition: ISBN 978-1-61200-473-0

A CIP record for this book is available from the British Library

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This book is a translated and revised edition of the original Japanese title: Once I Dreamed of Being Robert Capa (Kodansha, two volumes, 2008)

I like to tell people about the bravest man I ever met. Hes a Japanese cameraman who didnt even come up to my shoulder but I never saw him back away or even flinch when the shooting started. He could walk through the bush all day long, carrying a load of equipment that would buckle a mules knees and never complain. He also took all the crap the war, the country, and the climate handed out and shrugged it off with a smile.

Roger Peterson, former ABC News correspondent

Tony Hirashiki is an essential piece of the foundation on which ABC was built. From the day he approached the bureau chief in Saigon with a note pinned to his shirt saying he could shoot pictures to the anxious afternoon of 9/11 when we lost him in the collapse of the Twin Towers (and he emerged covered in dust clutching his precious beta tapes), Tony reported the news with his camera and in doing so, he brought the truth about the important events of our day to millions of Americans.

David Westin, former President of ABC News

The cameramen were the real heroes of the Vietnam War coverage and Tony Hirashikis story proves it!

Sam Donaldson, former ABC News White House reporter

Tony realized his dream. He became the Robert Capa of TV news cameramen. Everyone at ABC News loved working with Tony but I was so fortunate to have him as my sensei. He selflessly taught me the craft. He was always patient and gracious. Tony has such a unique sense of humor. He is as loyal a friend as you can have. A truly outstanding human being.

J. W. Lower, documentarian and photographer

Beautifully composed pictures, even in the most chaotic of circumstances, came naturally to him. Some of that, Ive learned over the years, is a matter of instinct, but more of it comes from having the soul of a poet.

Ned Potter, former ABC News correspondent

Tony Hirashiki is among the greatest video journalists, and legendary among us. His deep intelligence, stunning eye, compassionate personality, and warm wit saved our lives at roadblocks real and conceptual in many wars, sometimes literally.

Bill Blakemore, ABC News correspondent

In his book Dispatches, Mike Herr wrote ....Vietnam is what we had instead of happy childhoods. This book is an honest, sensitive and entertaining account of that family written by one of its most respected members. This translation retains the humor and gentleness in Tonys story.

Keith Kay, award-winning CBS cameraman

Tony Hirashiki was perfect for the times. Young, with no thought for his own safety, he just wanted to show the Vietnam war as it was. He did that, filming for ABC News and the various correspondents he worked with. Its his filmic brilliance that turned the reporting then into what was called, The Living Room War.

Drew Pearson, former ABC NEWS correspondent

CONTENTS

FOREWORD

I did not witness the event, but the arrival of Yasutsune Hirashiki at ABCs Saigon bureau in 1966 has, over the years, taken on some of the resonance of the baby Moses discovery in the bullrushes by the Pharaohs daughter. The legendary account does not differ all that drastically from Mr. Hirashikis own recollection; but in the version I heard on my initial tour in South Vietnam in January of 1967, Hirashiki had an envelope addressed to the ABC Bureau Chief safety-pinned to his jacket. If that image evokes a childs first day at summer camp, it is apt. To put matters into perspective, none of Hirashikis legion of American friends and colleagues has ever called him Mr. Hirashiki, or Yasutsune. It has always been Tony. It is a testimony to Tonys innate modesty and courtesy that he has seemed genuinely content with this arrangement, while continuing to apply the Japanese honorific to each of our namesTedsan, for example.

But back to the letter: It was from ABC News Director of Film, a man by the name of Jack Bush. It introduced Tony to the Saigon bureau chief and, in essence, recommended giving Tony a tryout. This, as you will later learn, did not precisely reflect Tonys understanding. He thought he was coming to a job and a regular salary. At the time, Tony spoke very little English. There are some harsh critics who will argue that, despite many years living here in the United States, fluency in English still eludes my old friend. The reader must understand that loving Tony is not dependent on sharing a common language; indeed, it might even have proved to be an obstacle.

I have seen this book in three iterations: the Japanese version, which was honored with one of that nations top literary prizes but not a page of which I could read, Tonys helpful translation of the chapter relating most directly to me, and Terry Irvings splendid effort to bridge the gap between the two. To give a flavor of Tonys English, I am providing part of an email Tony sent informing me of the good news that his original book was being honored in Japan:

June 19, at imperial hotel Tokyo, the organizer will held award ceremony. They invited me to attend. I also getting 10 thousand award cash!

So if you are coming down NY area and have time, Ill buy good Sushi Dinner (not lunch special). The book had great reviews by big news papers and magazines in Japan, but sale was slow due to economic situation, good book but too expensive and two volumes. well at least people know how we had covered the Vietnam war.

I wish you are attending at ceremony..., meanwhile please share with me this honor...its yours too. Please dont forget wash hands, gargle, no shake hand, no hug, and no kissing air or cheek and keep away from Japanese cameraman who write funny story.

One article said [71 YEARS FRESH WRITER WAS BORN, PROBABLY WITHOUT SECOND BOOK]

So I have to challenge!

Best regard to all your family.

Love and respect

Tony HIRASHIKI

Tony would have been the perfect intelligence agent. He conveys the impression of a complete innocent, a man without guile. Tony makes people smile. His own smile is beatific and infectious, but it is his generosity of spirit, his deep sense of humanity that transcend language and culture. Tony Hirashiki was simply one of the best television cameramen to cover the Vietnam War. His soaring video, often acquired only at great personal risk, gave wings to even the most mundane narration. For those of us who worked with him he was also a source of gentleness and joy in a place where both were in terribly short supply.