The fall of Saigon - defining image earned US$100

The Foreign Correspondents’ Club (FCC) of Hong Kong, home of the office name plate outside the old Reuters Saigon bureau (photo), paid homage today to Hubert (Hugh) van Es, the Dutch photographer who exactly 40 years ago while working for UPI captured the haunting image of the helicopter evacuation of desperate people from a Saigon rooftop. Saigon fell to North Vietnamese troops the following day, ending the war. 

Hugh, a legend not only of photography but also of his beloved FCC, died in Hong Kong in May 2009, but his wife Annie was present at a Club reception commemorating one of the defining moments in the history of war photography. Hugh’s photo - which earned him fame but just US$100 - and camera were on display. Annie is still in touch with the helicopter’s pilot.

Hugh’s account of that day can be read in an article he wrote to mark the 30th anniversary: http://www.nytimes.com/2005/04/29/opinion/29van_es.html

The Reuters nameplate was brought out of Vietnam in 1980 by bureau office manager Pham Ngoc Dinh. ■