One-Way Ticket to Vietnam is a memoir by Catherine Leroy, one of the few female photographers to cover the Vietnam War between 1966 and 1968 and who was only 21 years old when she flew to Saigon with a one-way ticket, carrying only a Leica camera and a hundred dollars.
One of the very first women to be involved in combat in a predominantly male military environment and the only civilian woman to parachute with the US Army, the French-born Leroy paved the way for her fellow female war reporters. She was first woman to receive the Robert Capa Gold Medal, which recognises a reporter for their courage and independence.
Leroy quickly befriended the American soldiers she encountered – they were the same generation – and shared their daily lives for three years while she covered the conflict close to the action. She followed patrols on missions, sharing the soldiers' rations and makeshift sleeping quarters. Her tight framing and close proximity to the Marines capture the faces and bodies caught up in the turmoil of gunfire. In the heat and mud of the Vietnamese jungle her images capture not only moments of courage, fear and tension, but also friendship, solidarity and the distress of young men struck down by the violence of the battlefield. Her lens captures the ferocity of the fighting, the despair of the Vietnamese people, and the devastation on both sides of the conflict. Taken prisoner in Hue by North Vietnamese soldiers during the Tet Offensive, she produced an exceptional report and made the cover of Life magazine. Her photographs came to be seen around the world. Her audacity, curiosity and keen eye give her photographs extraordinary visual power.
The book, which includes Catherine Leroy's correspondence with her parents from 1966 to 1968, reveals the emergence of a young photojournalist and recounts her journey of discovery: a life combining political, social and feminist commitment.
Atelier EXB, 240pp, 17 x 24cm, illustrated paperback, 2025
