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Indiana Airman’s Rare Photographs Capture a Side of Vietnam Most Americans Never Saw
INDIANAPOLIS, Ind. (June 12, 2026) – Beginning June 13, the Indiana Historical Society (IHS) will present Snapshots of Saigon, an exhibition of rarely seen photographs documenting daily life in Vietnam during the mid-1960s. Taken by Goshen native Mark A. Kurtz during his military service, the images capture street merchants, families, markets, places of worship and neighborhoods throughout Saigon.
On display through Oct. 31 in the Eugene and Marilyn Glick Indiana History Center, Snapshots of Saigon features more than 50 photographs from the Mark A. and Karen B. Kurtz Collection. Kurtz served in the U.S. Air Force from 1963 to 1967 and received the Air Force Commendation Medal for meritorious service.
During a yearlong assignment in Vietnam (1965-1966), Kurtz was assigned as a photo interpreter with the 13th Reconnaissance Technical Squadron at the Tan Son Nhut Air Base near Saigon where he analyzed aerial photographs and other reconnaissance imagery for the U.S. Air Force. It was during this assignment that he spent his free time capturing these images on black-and-white film and developing the prints himself in a darkroom located on the military base.
Taken nearly a decade before the fall of Saigon, the photographs document a city whose daily routines continued amid a period of conflict and change.
“These photographs show a side of Vietnam that many Americans never had the opportunity to see,” said Jody Blankenship, president and CEO of the Indiana Historical Society. “While many Americans experienced Vietnam through images of war, Mark Kurtz documented the daily lives of people living and working in Saigon, creating a rare visual record of the city before its dramatic transformation.”
If you want to learn more about the photographs, letters, and newspaper clippings in this exhibit, explore the Mark A. and Karen B. Kurtz Collection at IHS’s William H. Smith Memorial Library. To learn more about the Vietnam War and Hoosier Vietnam veterans’ experiences, including an interview with Kurtz, visit the Hoosier Voices from Vietnam exhibit in the Rapp North Gallery.
Military Members (active, retired and veteran) and their party receive free admission to Indiana Historical Society.
Snapshots of Saigon is presented by Carter Family Fund with additional support by The Emerson B. and Jane H. Houck Endowment for Hoosier Photography.
For additional details visit indianahistory.org.
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About the Indiana Historical Society (IHS)
The Indiana Historical Society collects and preserves Indiana’s unique stories; brings Hoosiers together in remembering and sharing the past; and inspires a future grounded in our state’s uniting values and principles. IHS is a Smithsonian Affiliate.
