A War Story
Without Words
WRITTEN BY JACLYN RITTER, PHOTOGRAPHY BY RHONDA RENEE PHOTOGRAPHY
Art
has the power to evoke a multitude of emotions. It can tell a story. It also has the ability to inform or educate. No one knows this better than former combat artist, Ken Haley. His job - to document the Vietnam War through drawings and paintings.
E XP LO RE. US
From a young age, Ken could often be found sketching and doodling on whatever he could find. Who needs paper? As a ten-year-old boy selling newspapers, Ken used to draw on the sides of white cars – with pencil, of course. In his late teens and twenties, while working for the railroad, he would create masterpieces on the sides of boxcars with chalk. “I guess you could say I was an early graffiti artist,” jokes Ken. To this day he cannot help but keep a pen or pencil handy for when inspiration strikes. “I was not very good at English or math in school,” Ken says. “In fact, I didn’t test very well in general, but I always excelled in art class.” Having very little support from home, and practically on his own since the age of ten, Ken attributes his art teachers for encouraging him to pursue art outside of school. They supported him and invested in him when few others did. In a way, those art teachers paved the way for what was to become a very fascinating art career for Ken. However, it is unlikely even they could have predicted the surprising direction Ken’s raw talent and love for art would take him.
The Army
Called Ken was drafted into the Army in 1967, at the age of nineteen. He attended boot camp in Fort Bliss, Texas where the military first took note of his mechanical skills. From there Ken was sent to Fort Dix, New Jersey for training and then transferred to Fort Sill, Oklahoma for mechanical training on heavy artillery vehicles. In January of 1968, Ken was deployed to Saigon, Vietnam during the Tet Offensive, one of the largest campaigns during the Vietnam War. Ken was sent to Long Binh Post outside of Bien Hoa Army Base, with the 720th MP Battalion, where he worked as a mechanic on everything from quarter-ton jeeps, to thirteen-ton armored personnel carriers. Being a member of a Military Police battalion was an honor in itself. The MP patch signified authority and came with a lot of responsibility. “Some think the military police just sat around guarding buildings and such,” says Ken. “But really, we did whatever was needed of us, because we were simply short of hands.” In addition to his mechanic duties, Ken ran convoys as a gunner, performed highway security, river patrol, and search and destroy missions. During the little down time he had, Ken sketched his buddies’ girlfriends for extra money on the side. His
Photo by Daniel McJunkin
Simonton resident recalls his time as a combat artist during the Vietnam War
Photo by Daniel McJunkin
A WA R STORY W ITH OUT W ORDS
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