Reporting Vietnam: One Week’s Dead

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Reporting Vietnam: One Week’s Dead

The Vietnam War was one of the deadliest for Americans: 58,200 lost their lives. In its June 27, 1969, issue, Life magazine published a powerful story called “Faces of the American Dead: One Week’s Toll,” presented like a high school yearbook to personalize the war’s mounting casualties. Across 12 pages, the magazine printed photographs of 242 Americans who died in the war during a single week. There was little text — the pictures spoke for themselves. . The death toll in Vietnam – surpassed only by World War I and World War II – was a major factor in turning public opinion against the war.



The cover of the June 27, 1969, issue of Life magazine. (Newseum collection)

“Reporting Vietnam,” a new exhibit that marks the 50th anniversary of the start of America’s first televised war, explores the dramatic stories of how journalists brought news about the war to a divided nation.

Contributing support for the “Reporting Vietnam” exhibit is provided by CBS Corporation, in memory of CBS News correspondent Bob Simon.

“Reporting Vietnam” Now Open