Part of history: Japanese photojournalist Bunyo Ishikawa plans to donate to HCM City's War Remnants Museum 150 photos of the American war. — VNS Photo Ngoc Van

HCM CITY (VNS) — Japanese photojournalist Bunyo Ishikawa plans to donate to HCM City's War Remnants Museum 150 photos he took during his time in Viet Nam during and after the war against the US.

The director of the museum, Huynh Ngoc Van, who recently visited Ishikawa in Japan, said the 76-year-old photographer will hand over his photos next year when Viet Nam commemorates the 40th anniversary of the end of the war on April 30, 1975.

Ishikawa, who escaped death seven times after being wounded on the battlefield, spoke to the museum director about his plan to donate his photos during his visit to HCM City in March last year.

"He wants the museum keep his photos for younger generations to learn about the war, even after he passes away," said Van. "Ishikawa is very different from other photographers. Looking at his photos, I can see that he has great feelings toward Vietnamese civilians and the pain they suffered during the war."

After meeting the Japanese photographer the first time in 1997, Van followed him to various provinces and cities in Viet Nam where he had taken photos during the war.

Following the 1964 Gulf of Tonkin incident, which led to full-scale US military intervention in Viet Nam, Ishikawa traveled across the country to record evidence of the war.

In 1998, Ishikawa donated 260 photos he had taken during the war to the museum.

"Several foreign photojournalists donated photos taken during the war to the museum, but Ishikawa is the only foreign photojournalist who has given such a large number of photos that give a comprehensive view about war in Viet Nam," Van told Viet Nam News.

In Japan, Ishikawa, who lost 38 relatives because of World War II, donated 270 photographs to Okinawa's "Material Culture after World War II" exhibition room as part of a permanent exhibition.

Ishikawa was stationed in Sai Gon (now HCM City) and covered the war in Viet Nam as a photojournalist from 1964 to 1968.

He worked as a staff photographer for the Asahi Shinbun newspaper from 1969 to 1984. After 1984, Ishikawa continued to photograph in conflict zones around the world. — VNS