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.
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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
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“I had a .45 on my right hip, a camera slung around my neck, a sketchpad in my left hand, and a paintbrush in my right hand.” - Ken Haley homesick friends had pictures to carry around with them, and Ken was able to practice his portraits. This proved to be the much-needed creative outlet for Ken during the eighteen months spent as a mechanic with the MP Battalion.
Finding
Art in War
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Whether it was sheer luck or divine intervention, Ken was able to graduate from sketching his friends’ loved ones to attaining a job where he could utilize his artistic talents. Word got out that Ken’s battalion was looking for two artists and a journalist. Ken applied and was offered the opportunity to remain with his group with the sole purpose of capturing and depicting the Vietnam War through art. More specifically, his role as combat artist was to document the activities of the Military Police. Whether it was transporting supplies or guarding prisoners, Ken’s job was to relay a positive image and glorify the MPs.
“I was to submit one piece a week,” says Ken. “So, wherever the Military Police went, I went. I had a .45 on my right hip, a camera slung around my neck, a sketchpad in my left hand, and a paintbrush in my right hand.” On the streets of Vietnam, right in the middle of the chaos, Ken sat with a pen and paper, taking in his surroundings and crafting, to the most intricate detail, a perfect replica of the scene before him onto paper. When asked if he found it difficult to portray the Vietnam War in the form of art, Ken shook his head. “No, I chose to look at it solely as my job. I was there to capture what was really going on—the desolation, the thick and smothering clouds of dust, and the remarkable acts of heroism.” Ken felt that by focusing on the details and achieving a sense of reality on paper, the emotion would naturally manifest itself upon the canvas. His job was not to focus on emotion, but to portray what he saw as realistically as he could. All of the pieces of art Ken produced during that time belong to the United States government. To this day, he does not know what became of them. “We were told the art was being sent back to the States to be distributed amongst all the army bases,” says Ken. “But who knows. They are out there somewhere.”
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Finding
the Positive Sergeant Ken Haley proudly returned from his tour in Vietnam in January of 1970. Ken was fortunate to be able to return to his pre-military job, working full time night shifts as a switchman for the Rock Island Railroad. Thanks to the GI Bill, he also took the opportunity to apply to the Kansas City Art Institute. “I guess you can say the Vietnam War was basically in vain,” Ken says. “There was a lot of death and destruction, for very little gain.” It was his strong faith in God that helped a very young Ken Haley return home from Vietnam in one piece and one mind. “My faith helped me find the positive within the whole experience. Taking the job of combat artist proved to be a stepping stone for me. When I left Vietnam, I had a whole portfolio of photography, plus the few sketches I was able to keep. I submitted them with my application to the Kansas City Art Institute. With it being such a prestigious art school, I cannot help but think if it weren’t for my time as a combat artist, I would not have made the cut.” Ken graduated with a split major in Graphic Arts and Fine Arts.
Circling Back to His Own
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Artistic Expression “As my priorities became working to pay the bills and provide for my family, my art had to take a backseat,” says Ken. That is not the case anymore. After five years of serving in the missionary field in Mexico, and twenty-eight years growing a high-end custom painting company in Houston, Ken retired in 2016. Ken and Faith, his wife of 43 years, have built a beautiful home on 6.5 acres in Simonton. Situated on the west side of the property, positioned between a picture-perfect pond and their thriving chicken coop, sits Ken’s workshop. Now that he has expanded his art to include glass and carpentry, the workshop is equipped with a woodworking side and a painting side. The walls are covered with art in various stages of development. It is a space that lends itself to a creative mind. Ken has expanded his talents from realistic art to impressionistic art. After transposing exactly what he
The History of
C o m bat
A rt i s t s
Documenting and preserving the images of war in the form of art has been an integral part of the American Army for decades. “Recognizing the importance of military art as both a historical record and a positive influence on morale,” according to the National Constitution Center, in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, “the Army commissioned a team of eight artists into the Corps of Engineers during World War I and sent them to France to record the activities of the American Expeditionary Forces. Their mandate was to depict the activities of the Army or the individual soldiers in the style or medium in which they felt most comfortable.” The Army chose to revive the art program during the time of WWII.
To this day, Army soldier-artists travel the globe documenting wars and humanitarian efforts. These men and women have bravely documented our nation’s history from the front row in the form of art.
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Beginning in 1966, the US Army sponsored thirty-six soldiers to serve as combat artists during the Vietnam War. Our very own Ken Haley was one of that exclusive and talented group.
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saw to paper during his time as a combat artist, Ken now enjoys the freedom of portraying his personal style and his impressions of the world around him. Working with several mediums, including oil, acrylic, watercolor, and pen and ink, Ken depicts the likes of serene meadows, rough sea waters awaiting an impending storm, and grassy cliffs overlooking an inviting lake below. Those grade school art teachers would be proud to know that Ken never lost sight of his passion. Choosing to continue his education and stay current, Ken attends weekly art classes to continue expanding his abilities as an artist – proof that we never stop learning and growing. Ken is quick to thank the military men who recognized his talents and who gave him the platform to do what he does best for the country he was so proud to serve. Thanks to these early opportunities, art has had a presence in all stages of Ken’s life. It has been his one constant. “I love the creativity and emotions that I can evoke through my art,” says Ken. “It is the ability to say a whole lot, without words.” With no place to store all of the art, the entire collection was turned over to Smithsonian Institution’s Museum of American History. d To see some of his work and information about his future gallery openings visit: https://www.facebook.com/ArtistKennethHaley/ Ken is back to painting the sides of trains…the Blessington Farms barrel train that is! Next time you visit the farm, be sure to check out Ken’s fun and mobile art!
This beautiful, yet humbling piece was drawn by Ken Haley during his time as a combat artist in Vietnam. It depicts a military jeep driving through a temple near Tay Ninh, Vietnam. This drawing shows all the intricacies of the building itself, the tiny bullet holes, and the wear and tear bestowed upon it during the war.
“When I sat there in front of this temple
many years ago, I imagined all the history stored in its walls, and
the stories only the temple could tell. Such
A beautiful building, and yet the war was destroying it.”
www.read-king.com
