Charles Chellapah (1939 – 14 February 1966) was a Singaporean photojournalist of Indian origin who was killed on assignment during the

Vietnam War The Vietnam War (also known by 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 Vietnam a ...

Biography

Chellapah (also known as Canagaratnam Chellappah) was born in Indonesia. Unable to find a job as a photojournalist he emigrated to Singapore. Stringing for the now defunct Malay Times Chellapah worked for two years in Jesselton,

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 ea ...

before arrived in Saigon on 21 January 1966. Freelancing for the

Associated Press The Associated Press (AP) is an American non-profit news agency headquartered in New York City. Founded in 1846, it operates as a cooperative, unincorporated association. It produces news reports that are distributed to its members, U.S. ne ...

, he went to a place American GIs called "Hell's Half Acre". Some 25 miles north of Saigon, it was a densely jungled rubber plantation honey-combed with

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 ...

Tunnels and overrun by snipers. His dramatic close-up images of casualties and combat prompted AP photo editor

Horst Faas Horst Faas (28 April 1933 – 10 May 2012) was a German photo-journalist and two-time Pulitzer Prize winner. He is best known for his images of the Vietnam War. Life Horst Faas as born on 28 April 1933 in Berlin, which was then part of Naz ...

to warn Chellappah to be more cautious and take fewer chances. On 14 February 1966, Chellapah was killed in another landmine blast while attempting to rescue soldiers hurt from a mine blast.

References

Eastpix's coverage about Singaporean photographers killed in Vietnam war
Singaporean photographers War photographers killed while covering the Vietnam War 1939 births 1966 deaths Date of birth missing Place of birth missing Place of death missing {{Photographer-stub