Crossing the Pass of Clouds

An Army Photographer's Vietnam Journal

Lon Holmberg

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Hardback

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English

University Press of Mississippi
31 March 2025

Photographic reportage; Biography: historical, political & military; Asian history; Postwar 20th century history, from c 1945 to c 2000

Crossing the Pass of Clouds: An Army Photographer’s Vietnam Journal is an intimate portrait of the last years of the Vietnam War in 147 black-and-white pictures and a series of vignettes written by photographer Lon Holmberg. As the photographer for American Commanding General Creighton Abrams, Holmberg had the opportunity to document pivotal moments involving a range of influential historical figures. Among the many remarkable images Holmberg has captured are photographs of South Vietnamese President Nguyen Van Thieu, US Secretary of Defense Melvin Laird, and National Security Advisor Henry Kissinger during his journey to China, a trip that paved the way for President Nixon’s historic visit the following year.

In Crossing the Pass of Clouds, Holmberg presents a captivating and deeply personal account of his experiences during his service as an army photographer in Vietnam in 1971. Through a combination of vivid narration and poignant images, this memoir provides an intimate glimpse into the complexities of the Vietnam War and its aftermath, both for the country and for the narrator. Holmberg recounts his assignment in the Ashau Valley in the north (a significant infiltration route for the North Vietnamese Army); a daring reconnaissance mission across the border in Laos; and his time at a firebase in central Vietnam near the enigmatic Hai Van Pass (known in English as the Pass of Clouds). Yet even as Holmberg’s photographs look squarely at the realities of war, they also explore beyond it, illuminating the faded elegance of Saigon, the lives of indigenous communities and of farmers working in fields, and the eventual transition of Vietnam into an industrialized society.

By: Lon Holmberg
Imprint: University Press of Mississippi
Country of Publication: United States
Edition: Hardback ed.
Dimensions: Height: 216mm, Width: 279mm,
ISBN: 9781496855329
ISBN 10: 1496855329
Pages: 196
Publication Date: 31 March 2025
Audience: Professional and scholarly , Undergraduate
Format: Hardback
Publisher's Status: Active

Lon Holmberg is a documentary photographer and filmmaker whose work includes the PBS documentaries Doing Time and Mending Hearts. His photographs and writing have appeared in such publications as Streetlight: A Journal of Art and Literature, and he has taught English and photography at various schools, including a one-month intensive workshop in English at the University of Hue in Vietnam.

Reviews for Crossing the Pass of Clouds: An Army Photographer's Vietnam Journal

""Crossing the Pass of Clouds is a layered tale well told. The photographs are superb. This is as good as it gets in Vietnam War memoirs."" - Robert K. Brigham, author of This Is a True War Story: An Adoptee’s Memoir