Neil Brian Davis (14 February 1934 – 9 September 1985) was an Australian combat
cameraman
A camera operator, or depending on the context cameraman or camerawoman, is a professional operator of a film camera or video camera as part of a film crew. The term "cameraman" does not imply that a male is performing the task.
In filmmaking ...
who was recognised for his work as a
photojournalist
Photojournalism is journalism that uses images to tell a news story. It usually only refers to still images, but can also refer to video used in broadcast journalism. Photojournalism is distinguished from other close branches of photography (such ...
during the
Vietnam War
The Vietnam War (also known by #Names, other names) was a conflict in Vietnam, Laos, and Cambodia from 1 November 1955 to the fall of Saigon on 30 April 1975. It was the second of the Indochina Wars and was officially fought between North Vie ...
and other conflicts in the region. He was killed in Bangkok on 9 September 1985, while filming a minor Thai coup attempt.
Early life
Davis was born in
Hobart
Hobart ( ; Nuennonne/Palawa kani: ''nipaluna'') is the capital and most populous city of the Australian island state of Tasmania. Home to almost half of all Tasmanians, it is the least-populated Australian state capital city, and second-small ...
,
Tasmania
)
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and raised on farms in Nala and
Sorell, attending Sorell High School and later Hobart High. He quit school at age 15 to work in the Tasmanian Government Film Unit.
He joined the
Australian Broadcasting Commission
The Australian Broadcasting Corporation (ABC) is the national broadcaster of Australia. It is principally funded by direct grants from the Australian Government and is administered by a government-appointed board. The ABC is a publicly-owned ...
(ABC) in 1961 as a cine-cameraman, but he left in December 1963 to accept an offer to become
Visnews
{{nofootnotes, date = March 2016
Visnews was a London-based international news agency. It began as the British Commonwealth International Newsfilm Agency (BCINA), which was setup with help from The Rank Organisation when that company closed its cin ...
's cameraman and correspondent for Southeast Asia. He was based in
Singapore
Singapore (), officially the Republic of Singapore, is a sovereign island country and city-state in maritime Southeast Asia. It lies about one degree of latitude () north of the equator, off the southern tip of the Malay Peninsula, borde ...
.
War correspondent
In early 1964 Davis went to
Borneo
Borneo (; id, Kalimantan) is the third-largest island in the world and the largest in Asia. At the geographic centre of Maritime Southeast Asia, in relation to major Indonesian islands, it is located north of Java, west of Sulawesi, and eas ...
to cover the
Indonesia–Malaysia confrontation
The Indonesia–Malaysia confrontation or Borneo confrontation (also known by its Indonesian / Malay name, ''Konfrontasi'') was an armed conflict from 1963 to 1966 that stemmed from Indonesia's opposition to the creation of the Federation of ...
. Shortly afterwards Davis made his first visits to
Vietnam
Vietnam or Viet Nam ( vi, Việt Nam, ), officially the Socialist Republic of Vietnam,., group="n" is a country in Southeast Asia, at the eastern edge of mainland Southeast Asia, with an area of and population of 96 million, making i ...
and
Laos
Laos (, ''Lāo'' )), officially the Lao People's Democratic Republic ( Lao: ສາທາລະນະລັດ ປະຊາທິປະໄຕ ປະຊາຊົນລາວ, French: République démocratique populaire lao), is a socialist ...
. Although he reported from across Asia, he is best remembered for his long association with, and reporting on, the
war in Indo-China.
Unusual among foreign correspondents, Davis chose to film the war from the
South Vietnam
South Vietnam, officially the Republic of Vietnam ( vi, Việt Nam Cộng hòa), was a state in Southeast Asia that existed from 1955 to 1975, the period when the southern portion of Vietnam was a member of the Western Bloc during part of th ...
ese perspective, shooting acclaimed combat footage on many occasions and acquiring a reputation for skill and luck. He was driven by the desire to obtain the best film he could and was well known for his neutrality, crossing, on one occasion, to film from the
Viet Cong
,
, war = the Vietnam War
, image = FNL Flag.svg
, caption = The flag of the Viet Cong, adopted in 1960, is a variation on the flag of North Vietnam. Sometimes the lower stripe was green.
, active ...
side. Davis's main preoccupation was with filming the effects of war and combat on individuals. His neutrality notwithstanding, Davis earned the ire of United States military authorities, but this did not stop American news networks seeking out his film.
[
During the ]Tet Offensive
The Tet Offensive was a major escalation and one of the largest military campaigns of the Vietnam War. It was launched on January 30, 1968 by forces of the Viet Cong (VC) and North Vietnamese People's Army of Vietnam (PAVN) against the forces o ...
in early 1968, Davis covered action in Saigon
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, population_density_metro_km2 = 697.2
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and Huế
Huế () is the capital of Thừa Thiên Huế province in central Vietnam and was the capital of Đàng Trong from 1738 to 1775 and of Vietnam during the Nguyễn dynasty from 1802 to 1945. The city served as the old Imperial City and admi ...
. It was during his period in Huế that Davis crossed path with Brigadier General Nguyễn Ngọc Loan
Major General Nguyễn Ngọc Loan (; 11 December 193014 July 1998) was a South Vietnamese general and chief of the South Vietnamese National Police.
Loan gained international attention when he summarily executed handcuffed prisoner Nguyễn ...
. Davis recalls that on meeting Nguyễn Ngọc Loan he "lifted his arm to which he had strapped a machine pistol, pointed it at me and said 'Some day I kill you'". While apparently shocking, Davis knew this was not true and really a reference to events that had occurred earlier during the offensive.
Between 1970 and 1975 Davis spent increasing amounts of time in Cambodia and he moved to Phnom Penh
Phnom Penh (; km, ភ្នំពេញ, ) is the capital and most populous city of Cambodia. It has been the national capital since the French protectorate of Cambodia and has grown to become the nation's primate city and its economic, indus ...
in 1971. He was severely wounded on several occasions, once almost losing a leg, but was fit and determined enough to recover and continue his work. In June 1973 Davis left Visnews and became a freelancer. In April 1975, Davis chose to leave Phnom Penh with the American helicopter evacuation. Joined by NBC News Correspondent Jim Laurie James Andrew Laurie is an American writer, journalist, and broadcaster who is known principally for his work in Asia.
Education
Laurie graduated from the American University in Washington D.C. in 1973 with a degree in History and a certificate ...
, he flew to Vietnam to cover the final stage of the war. On 30 April, Davis filmed as North Vietnamese troops and T-54 tank
The T-54 and T-55 tanks are a series of Soviet main battle tanks introduced in the years following the Second World War. The first T-54 prototype was completed at Nizhny Tagil by the end of 1945.Steven Zaloga, T-54 and T-55 Main Battle Tanks ...
number 834 famously broke through the gates to the Presidential Palace in Saigon
, population_density_km2 = 4,292
, population_density_metro_km2 = 697.2
, population_demonym = Saigonese
, blank_name = GRP (Nominal)
, blank_info = 2019
, blank1_name = – Total
, blank1_ ...
. This image, which has long remained a symbol of the American failure to stop Communism
Communism (from Latin la, communis, lit=common, universal, label=none) is a far-left sociopolitical, philosophical, and economic ideology and current within the socialist movement whose goal is the establishment of a communist society, a s ...
in Vietnam
Vietnam or Viet Nam ( vi, Việt Nam, ), officially the Socialist Republic of Vietnam,., group="n" is a country in Southeast Asia, at the eastern edge of mainland Southeast Asia, with an area of and population of 96 million, making i ...
, was first broadcast on an ''NBC News Special Report: Communist Saigon'' narrated by Laurie on 26 May 1975.
After Vietnam, Davis based himself in Bangkok, Thailand
Thailand ( ), historically known as Siam () and officially the Kingdom of Thailand, is a country in Southeast Asia, located at the centre of the Indochinese Peninsula, spanning , with a population of almost 70 million. The country is bo ...
, but he travelled to cover stories in Angola
, national_anthem = " Angola Avante"()
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, Sudan
Sudan ( or ; ar, السودان, as-Sūdān, officially the Republic of the Sudan ( ar, جمهورية السودان, link=no, Jumhūriyyat as-Sūdān), is a country in Northeast Africa. It shares borders with the Central African Republic t ...
, Uganda
}), is a landlocked country in East Africa
East Africa, Eastern Africa, or East of Africa, is the eastern subregion of the African continent. In the United Nations Statistics Division scheme of geographic regions, 10-11-(16*) territor ...
and Lebanon
Lebanon ( , ar, لُبْنَان, translit=lubnān, ), officially the Republic of Lebanon () or the Lebanese Republic, is a country in Western Asia. It is located between Syria to the north and east and Israel to the south, while Cyprus li ...
. In 1978 he was briefly imprisoned in Syria
Syria ( ar, سُورِيَا or سُورِيَة, translit=Sūriyā), officially the Syrian Arab Republic ( ar, الجمهورية العربية السورية, al-Jumhūrīyah al-ʻArabīyah as-Sūrīyah), is a Western Asian country loc ...
, accused of spying for Israel
Israel (; he, יִשְׂרָאֵל, ; ar, إِسْرَائِيل, ), officially the State of Israel ( he, מְדִינַת יִשְׂרָאֵל, label=none, translit=Medīnat Yīsrāʾēl; ), is a country in Western Asia. It is situated ...
.[
]
Death
After nearly 20 dangerous assignments on the battlefronts, Neil Davis was killed in Bangkok
Bangkok, officially known in Thai language, Thai as Krung Thep Maha Nakhon and colloquially as Krung Thep, is the capital and most populous city of Thailand. The city occupies in the Chao Phraya River delta in central Thailand and has an estima ...
on 9 September 1985, while filming a minor Thai
Thai or THAI may refer to:
* Of or from Thailand, a country in Southeast Asia
** Thai people, the dominant ethnic group of Thailand
** Thai language, a Tai-Kadai language spoken mainly in and around Thailand
*** Thai script
*** Thai (Unicode block ...
coup attempt that ended after only a few hours. Davis and his American soundman Bill Latch were covering an Army radio tower that had been seized. A pro-coup tank protected the entrance gate to the tower. Davis set up his camera facing the tank and got ready to deliver his report. Without warning, the tank fired a round in their direction. Davis and Latch were fatally wounded by shrapnel
Shrapnel may refer to:
Military
* Shrapnel shell, explosive artillery munitions, generally for anti-personnel use
* Shrapnel (fragment), a hard loose material
Popular culture
* ''Shrapnel'' (Radical Comics)
* ''Shrapnel'', a game by Adam C ...
. Davis died instantly, and his camera fell to the ground, still running. The last scene his camera recorded was the dying Latch crawling for cover.
Latch, a former missionary had reservations working with Davis. He feared Davis's recklessness would some day be his undoing, according to a colleague from Voice of America
Voice of America (VOA or VoA) is the state-owned news network and international radio broadcaster of the United States of America. It is the largest and oldest U.S.-funded international broadcaster. VOA produces digital, TV, and radio content ...
. Davis also had his own reservations; always meticulous in the care and maintenance of his equipment, Davis in private questioned Latch's ability to meet his standards. Davis was a victim of technology which may have contributed to his death. He had always worked by himself in dangerous situations, preferring not to make life-and-death decisions for others. But for the last six years of his life, he was tethered to a sound man "to shoulder the heavy battery and cassette pack, linked to the nine-kilogram camera by a video cable."
Commemoration
In 1986, Davis was posthumously entered into the TV Week Logie Awards' Hall of Fame.
His work has been commemorated in the documentary ''Frontline'' by David Bradbury and in Tim Bowden
Timothy Gibson Bowden (born 2 August 1937), is an Australian author, radio and television broadcaster and producer, and oral historian. He was born in Hobart, Tasmania, and studied at the University of Tasmania, where he graduated with a Bachel ...
's biography ''One Crowded Hour'' which takes its title from a verse by Thomas Osbert Mordaunt: "One crowded hour of glorious life is worth an age without a name" a line that Davis wrote in the front of each of his work diaries. The award-winning Augie March
Augie (sometimes spelled Auggie) is a nickname for variations of the name August, which derives from the Latin name Augustus. It may refer to:
People
*Augie Auer (1940–2007), meteorologist
*Augie Galan (1912–1993), Major League Baseball play ...
song "One Crowded Hour
"One Crowded Hour" is a song by Australian indie rock band Augie March written by Glenn Richards. The song was released in April 2006 as the first single released from their third studio album, '' Moo, You Bloody Choir''.
The song had been play ...
" was composed by Glenn Richards while he was reading ''One Crowded Hour''.
Literary depiction
Christopher Koch
Christopher John Koch Order of Australia, AO (16 July 1932 – 23 September 2013) was an Australian novelist, known for his 1978 novel ''The Year of Living Dangerously (novel), The Year of Living Dangerously'', which was adapted into an The Yea ...
's 1995 novel '' Highways to a war'' centres on a photo journalist resembling Neil Davis. Koch's protagonist is fearless and reports on the war by following local troops rather than western ones.
Footnotes
External links
"NEIL DAVIS OF NBC NEWS, 51; KILLED IN THAI COUP ATTEMPT"
''New York Times''
Video of footage captured by Davis' camera during his death
{{DEFAULTSORT:Davis, Neil
1934 births
1985 deaths
Australian expatriates in Thailand
Australian expatriates in Vietnam
Australian photojournalists
Deaths by firearm in Thailand
Filmed killings
Logie Award winners
People from Tasmania
Vietnam War photographers
War photographers killed while covering military conflicts