"Once you put up the camera and take pictures, you feel like you’re bulletproof, but of course you’re not." (Video interview, 25:58)

William Jerome Bell

William Bell [3/2009] War: Vietnam War, 1961-1975 Branch: Army Unit: 362nd Signal Company Service Location: Vietnam Rank: Sergeant First Class Place of Birth: Buffalo, NY

Signing up for a second tour in Vietnam in order to support his young family, William Bell spent his time in-country as a motion picture photographer. From behind the lens, he saw all that the war in the countryside had to offer: ambushes, napalm drops, and casualties. Witnessing such atrocities convinced him of the futility of the Vietnam War--but his time there also honed his skills and taught him what he was capable of accomplishing.