Alexander D. Shimkin
Encyclopedia
Alexander Demitri "Alex" Shimkin (October 11, 1944 - July 12, 1972) was an American
war correspondent
who was killed in Vietnam
. He is notable for his investigation of non-combatant
casualties in Operation Speedy Express
.
, Shimkin moved with his family in 1960 to Urbana, Illinois
, where his parents, anthropologists Demitri B. Shimkin (1916–1992) and Edith Manning Shimkin (1912–1984), had joined the faculty of the University of
Illinois
. He graduated from Urbana High School
in 1962, then attended the University of Michigan
before volunteering in 1965 to become a civil rights worker, first with the Northern Student Movement
in Alabama
, where he was arrested twice in Montgomery
; then with the Mississippi Freedom Democratic Party
. In Mississippi
, Shimkin was among 140 demonstrators arrested in Natchez
on October 2, 1965, and detained three days at Parchman State Prison Farm
, where he and others were kept naked in cold cells with no bedding. Shimkin also wrote an eight-page "Natchez Political Handbook" outlining the local political structure and the right to demonstrate.
(IVS) in Laos
and South Vietnam
. While with IVS in Vietnam, Shimkin and another volunteer, Ronald Moreau, became sources for a New York Times
story by Gloria Emerson
published in January 1971 about the forced use of Vietnamese civilians by South Vietnamese officers and their American advisers to clear land mines near the village of Ba Chúc
on the Cambodia
n border. As Moreau later described the situation, North Vietnam
ese and Viet Cong soldiers planted mines on hillsides near the village to protect their upland positions and successfully resisted combined American and South Vietnamese air and ground attacks. Believing that the villagers knew where the communist forces had placed the mines and booby trap
s, the American and South Vietnamese officers forced the Ba Chúc villagers at gunpoint to use hand tools to locate and remove the mines, a task that resulted in several deaths and serious injuries among the villagers when the explosives detonated. There were also casualties from mortar
attacks by the communists who wanted to disrupt the operation.
After contacting Emerson, Shimkin and Moreau went with her to interview the villagers. According to Moreau, Emerson's story "had an immediate impact," causing the Pentagon
to order an immediate halt to the mine-clearing operation. The story also brought a halt to Shimkin's and Moreau's service with IVS, which fired them for speaking to the press without permission. According to Moreau, Emerson intervened again, getting Shimkin a job as a stringer
with Newsweek
and Moreau one with the Washington Post
.
(MACV). Reviewing the MACV documents about Operation Speedy Express, conducted in the Mekong Delta
from December 1968 through May 1969, Shimkin noticed the large disparity between the American claims of 10,899 enemy dead and the reported capture of only 748 enemy weapons. Shimkin's conclusion, based on further documentary research and on interviews with American officials and Vietnamese witnesses, was that a large number of the reported dead were Vietnamese noncombatants whose deaths, whether accidental or deliberate, were used to enhance the body count
that commanders of the Ninth Infantry Division considered the measure of the operation's success.
Shimkin and his boss, Newsweek's Saigon
bureau chief Kevin P. Buckley, produced a 4,700-word story that specifically alleged "that thousands of Vietnamese civilians have been killed deliberately by U.S. forces." Pared back to 1,800 words by Newsweek editors who feared that the allegations would be seen as a "gratuitous attack" on the administration of President Richard M. Nixon
following the revelations of the My Lai Massacre
, the story was published in June 1972 under the title "Pacification's Deadly Price," but it attracted little attention. A few weeks later, Shimkin was killed.
attack. Two South Vietnamese Skyraider aircraft went off course and dropped the incendiary
bombs near the journalists, resulting in the deaths of two children and inflicting serious burns on others, including Kim Phúc.
"Jesus! People have been bombed!" Shimkin is reported to have shouted. A picture taken by David Burnett from behind Kim Phúc shows a running man with his right arm outstretched toward her. Author Denise Chong
has written that the man in the picture might be Shimkin. A few minutes later Shimkin was on his knees weeping and telling others,"Leave me alone."
. Leaving behind their Jeep, they walked into a hand grenade
attack by North Vietnamese soldiers. Fluent in Vietnamese, Shimkin attempted to communicate with the attackers, but was killed. Huntley, a veteran of the U.S. Special Forces, was only slightly wounded and later attributed his survival and escape to his military training. Shimkin's body was not recovered, and he was considered "missing in action" for many years. Former war correspondent Zalin Grant thought he had Shimkin's grave "fairly well pinpointed" in 2002, but as of 2010 Shimkin's remains had not been located.
and Theodore Dreiser
as well as reading political science
and American history. At the time of his death he had been accepted for graduate study at Princeton University
and hoped to write the "definitive history" of the Vietnam War. Shimkin's interest in military history led him to donate books on the subject to the Indiana University Library.
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
war correspondent
War correspondent
A war correspondent is a journalist who covers stories firsthand from a war zone. In the 19th century they were also called Special Correspondents.-Methods:...
who was killed in Vietnam
Vietnam War
The Vietnam War was a Cold War-era military conflict that occurred in Vietnam, Laos, and Cambodia from 1 November 1955 to the fall of Saigon on 30 April 1975. This war followed the First Indochina War and was fought between North Vietnam, supported by its communist allies, and the government of...
. He is notable for his investigation of non-combatant
Non-combatant
Non-combatant is a term in the law of war describing civilians not taking a direct part in hostilities, as well as persons such as medical personnel and military chaplains who are regular soldiers but are protected because of their function as well as soldiers who are hors de combat ; that is, sick,...
casualties in Operation Speedy Express
Operation Speedy Express
Operation Speedy Express was a controversial United States military operation of the Vietnam War conducted in the Mekong Delta provinces Kien Hoa and Vinh Binh...
.
Early life and civil rights work
Born in Washington, D.C.Washington, D.C.
Washington, D.C., formally the District of Columbia and commonly referred to as Washington, "the District", or simply D.C., is the capital of the United States. On July 16, 1790, the United States Congress approved the creation of a permanent national capital as permitted by the U.S. Constitution....
, Shimkin moved with his family in 1960 to Urbana, Illinois
Urbana, Illinois
Urbana is the county seat of Champaign County, Illinois, United States. As of the 2010 census, the population was 41,250. Urbana is the tenth-most populous city in Illinois outside of the Chicago metropolitan area....
, where his parents, anthropologists Demitri B. Shimkin (1916–1992) and Edith Manning Shimkin (1912–1984), had joined the faculty of the University of
Illinois
University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign
The University of Illinois at Urbana–Champaign is a large public research-intensive university in the state of Illinois, United States. It is the flagship campus of the University of Illinois system...
. He graduated from Urbana High School
Urbana High School (Illinois)
-History:Urbana High School's current building was built in 1914. It was designed by architect Joseph Royer who also designed many other area buildings such as the Urbana Free Library and the Champaign County Court House...
in 1962, then attended the University of Michigan
University of Michigan
The University of Michigan is a public research university located in Ann Arbor, Michigan in the United States. It is the state's oldest university and the flagship campus of the University of Michigan...
before volunteering in 1965 to become a civil rights worker, first with the Northern Student Movement
Northern Student Movement
The Northern Student Movement was an American civil rights organization founded at Yale University in 1961 by Peter J. Countryman...
in Alabama
Alabama
Alabama is a state located in the southeastern region of the United States. It is bordered by Tennessee to the north, Georgia to the east, Florida and the Gulf of Mexico to the south, and Mississippi to the west. Alabama ranks 30th in total land area and ranks second in the size of its inland...
, where he was arrested twice in Montgomery
Montgomery, Alabama
Montgomery is the capital of the U.S. state of Alabama, and is the county seat of Montgomery County. It is located on the Alabama River southeast of the center of the state, in the Gulf Coastal Plain. As of the 2010 census, Montgomery had a population of 205,764 making it the second-largest city...
; then with the Mississippi Freedom Democratic Party
Mississippi Freedom Democratic Party
The Mississippi Freedom Democratic Party was an American political party created in the state of Mississippi in 1964, during the civil rights movement...
. In Mississippi
Mississippi
Mississippi is a U.S. state located in the Southern United States. Jackson is the state capital and largest city. The name of the state derives from the Mississippi River, which flows along its western boundary, whose name comes from the Ojibwe word misi-ziibi...
, Shimkin was among 140 demonstrators arrested in Natchez
Natchez, Mississippi
Natchez is the county seat of Adams County, Mississippi, United States. With a total population of 18,464 , it is the largest community and the only incorporated municipality within Adams County...
on October 2, 1965, and detained three days at Parchman State Prison Farm
Mississippi State Penitentiary
Mississippi State Penitentiary , also known as Parchman Farm, is the oldest prison and the only maximum security prison for men in the state of Mississippi, USA....
, where he and others were kept naked in cold cells with no bedding. Shimkin also wrote an eight-page "Natchez Political Handbook" outlining the local political structure and the right to demonstrate.
Volunteer service in Vietnam and the Ba Chúc story
Returning to his studies, Shimkin graduated with "high distinction" in government from Indiana University (Bloomington) in 1969, then became a community development worker with International Voluntary ServicesInternational Voluntary Services
International Voluntary Services, Inc., was a private nonprofit organization that placed American volunteers in development projects in Third World countries. IVS had volunteers in Algeria, Bolivia, Ecuador, Egypt, Jordan, Iraq, Laos, Nepal, South Vietnam and other countries...
(IVS) in Laos
Laos
Laos Lao: ສາທາລະນະລັດ ປະຊາທິປະໄຕ ປະຊາຊົນລາວ Sathalanalat Paxathipatai Paxaxon Lao, officially the Lao People's Democratic Republic, is a landlocked country in Southeast Asia, bordered by Burma and China to the northwest, Vietnam to the east, Cambodia to the south and Thailand to the west...
and South Vietnam
South Vietnam
South Vietnam was a state which governed southern Vietnam until 1975. It received international recognition in 1950 as the "State of Vietnam" and later as the "Republic of Vietnam" . Its capital was Saigon...
. While with IVS in Vietnam, Shimkin and another volunteer, Ronald Moreau, became sources for a New York Times
The New York Times
The New York Times is an American daily newspaper founded and continuously published in New York City since 1851. The New York Times has won 106 Pulitzer Prizes, the most of any news organization...
story by Gloria Emerson
Gloria Emerson
Gloria Emerson was an American author, journalist and New York Times war correspondent, who won a National Book Award for her book about the Vietnam War, Winners and Losers....
published in January 1971 about the forced use of Vietnamese civilians by South Vietnamese officers and their American advisers to clear land mines near the village of Ba Chúc
Ba Chúc
Ba Chúc is a commune and village of the Tri Tôn District of An Giang Province, Vietnam. During the Vietnam war, the village came to the attention of Americans when it was revealed in the New York Times that civilians there had been forced by ARVN officers and their American advisers to remove...
on the Cambodia
Cambodia
Cambodia , officially known as the Kingdom of Cambodia, is a country located in the southern portion of the Indochina Peninsula in Southeast Asia...
n border. As Moreau later described the situation, North Vietnam
North Vietnam
The Democratic Republic of Vietnam , was a communist state that ruled the northern half of Vietnam from 1954 until 1976 following the Geneva Conference and laid claim to all of Vietnam from 1945 to 1954 during the First Indochina War, during which they controlled pockets of territory throughout...
ese and Viet Cong soldiers planted mines on hillsides near the village to protect their upland positions and successfully resisted combined American and South Vietnamese air and ground attacks. Believing that the villagers knew where the communist forces had placed the mines and booby trap
Booby trap
A booby trap is a device designed to harm or surprise a person, unknowingly triggered by the presence or actions of the victim. As the word trap implies, they often have some form of bait designed to lure the victim towards it. However, in other cases the device is placed on busy roads or is...
s, the American and South Vietnamese officers forced the Ba Chúc villagers at gunpoint to use hand tools to locate and remove the mines, a task that resulted in several deaths and serious injuries among the villagers when the explosives detonated. There were also casualties from mortar
Mortar (weapon)
A mortar is an indirect fire weapon that fires explosive projectiles known as bombs at low velocities, short ranges, and high-arcing ballistic trajectories. It is typically muzzle-loading and has a barrel length less than 15 times its caliber....
attacks by the communists who wanted to disrupt the operation.
After contacting Emerson, Shimkin and Moreau went with her to interview the villagers. According to Moreau, Emerson's story "had an immediate impact," causing the Pentagon
The Pentagon
The Pentagon is the headquarters of the United States Department of Defense, located in Arlington County, Virginia. As a symbol of the U.S. military, "the Pentagon" is often used metonymically to refer to the Department of Defense rather than the building itself.Designed by the American architect...
to order an immediate halt to the mine-clearing operation. The story also brought a halt to Shimkin's and Moreau's service with IVS, which fired them for speaking to the press without permission. According to Moreau, Emerson intervened again, getting Shimkin a job as a stringer
Stringer (journalism)
In journalism, a stringer is a type of freelance journalist or photographer who contributes reports or photos to a news organization on an ongoing basis but is paid individually for each piece of published or broadcast work....
with Newsweek
Newsweek
Newsweek is an American weekly news magazine published in New York City. It is distributed throughout the United States and internationally. It is the second-largest news weekly magazine in the U.S., having trailed Time in circulation and advertising revenue for most of its existence...
and Moreau one with the Washington Post
The Washington Post
The Washington Post is Washington, D.C.'s largest newspaper and its oldest still-existing paper, founded in 1877. Located in the capital of the United States, The Post has a particular emphasis on national politics. D.C., Maryland, and Virginia editions are printed for daily circulation...
.
Investigation of Operation Speedy Express
Working for Newsweek, Shimkin read documents released by the United States Military Assistance Command, VietnamMilitary Assistance Command, Vietnam
The U.S. Military Assistance Command, Vietnam, MACV, , was the United States' unified command structure for all of its military forces in South Vietnam during the Vietnam War.-History:...
(MACV). Reviewing the MACV documents about Operation Speedy Express, conducted in the Mekong Delta
Mekong Delta
The Mekong Delta is the region in southwestern Vietnam where the Mekong River approaches and empties into the sea through a network of distributaries. The Mekong delta region encompasses a large portion of southwestern Vietnam of . The size of the area covered by water depends on the season.The...
from December 1968 through May 1969, Shimkin noticed the large disparity between the American claims of 10,899 enemy dead and the reported capture of only 748 enemy weapons. Shimkin's conclusion, based on further documentary research and on interviews with American officials and Vietnamese witnesses, was that a large number of the reported dead were Vietnamese noncombatants whose deaths, whether accidental or deliberate, were used to enhance the body count
Body count
A body count is the total number of people killed in a particular event. In combat, a body count is often based on the number of confirmed kills, but occasionally only an estimate.-Military use:...
that commanders of the Ninth Infantry Division considered the measure of the operation's success.
Shimkin and his boss, Newsweek's Saigon
Ho Chi Minh City
Ho Chi Minh City , formerly named Saigon is the largest city in Vietnam...
bureau chief Kevin P. Buckley, produced a 4,700-word story that specifically alleged "that thousands of Vietnamese civilians have been killed deliberately by U.S. forces." Pared back to 1,800 words by Newsweek editors who feared that the allegations would be seen as a "gratuitous attack" on the administration of President Richard M. Nixon
Richard Nixon
Richard Milhous Nixon was the 37th President of the United States, serving from 1969 to 1974. The only president to resign the office, Nixon had previously served as a US representative and senator from California and as the 36th Vice President of the United States from 1953 to 1961 under...
following the revelations of the My Lai Massacre
My Lai Massacre
The My Lai Massacre was the Vietnam War mass murder of 347–504 unarmed civilians in South Vietnam on March 16, 1968, by United States Army soldiers of "Charlie" Company of 1st Battalion, 20th Infantry Regiment, 11th Brigade of the Americal Division. Most of the victims were women, children , and...
, the story was published in June 1972 under the title "Pacification's Deadly Price," but it attracted little attention. A few weeks later, Shimkin was killed.
Shimkin at Trảng Bàng
On June 8, 1972, a month before he died, Shimkin was one of the journalists present at Trảng Bàng in Tây Ninh Province when photographer Nick Ut captured his famous image of the nine-year-old Vietnamese girl Phan Thị Kim Phúc and some other children fleeing a napalmNapalm
Napalm is a thickening/gelling agent generally mixed with gasoline or a similar fuel for use in an incendiary device, primarily as an anti-personnel weapon...
attack. Two South Vietnamese Skyraider aircraft went off course and dropped the incendiary
Incendiary device
Incendiary weapons, incendiary devices or incendiary bombs are bombs designed to start fires or destroy sensitive equipment using materials such as napalm, thermite, chlorine trifluoride, or white phosphorus....
bombs near the journalists, resulting in the deaths of two children and inflicting serious burns on others, including Kim Phúc.
"Jesus! People have been bombed!" Shimkin is reported to have shouted. A picture taken by David Burnett from behind Kim Phúc shows a running man with his right arm outstretched toward her. Author Denise Chong
Denise Chong
- Early life and schooling :A third generation Chinese Canadian, Chong was born in Vancouver, British Columbia on 9 June 1953, and was raised in Prince George. She studied economy at the University of British Columbia earning her bachelor degee in 1975...
has written that the man in the picture might be Shimkin. A few minutes later Shimkin was on his knees weeping and telling others,"Leave me alone."
Death
On July 12, 1972, Shimkin and another reporter, Charles "Chad" Huntley, became lost in Quảng Trị ProvinceQuang Tri Province
Quảng Trị is a province on the North Central Coast of Vietnam, north of the former imperial capital of Huế.-Geography:Located in North Central Vietnam, Quang Tri Province is surrounded by Quang Binh Province on the north, Thua Thien-Hue Province on the south, Savannakhet Province of Laos on the...
. Leaving behind their Jeep, they walked into a hand grenade
Hand grenade
A hand grenade is any small bomb that can be thrown by hand. Hand grenades are classified into three categories, explosive grenades, chemical and gas grenades. Explosive grenades are the most commonly used in modern warfare, and are designed to detonate after impact or after a set amount of time...
attack by North Vietnamese soldiers. Fluent in Vietnamese, Shimkin attempted to communicate with the attackers, but was killed. Huntley, a veteran of the U.S. Special Forces, was only slightly wounded and later attributed his survival and escape to his military training. Shimkin's body was not recovered, and he was considered "missing in action" for many years. Former war correspondent Zalin Grant thought he had Shimkin's grave "fairly well pinpointed" in 2002, but as of 2010 Shimkin's remains had not been located.
Personal interests
According to information from Shimkin's IVS application, he liked the novels of William FaulknerWilliam Faulkner
William Cuthbert Faulkner was an American writer from Oxford, Mississippi. Faulkner worked in a variety of media; he wrote novels, short stories, a play, poetry, essays and screenplays during his career...
and Theodore Dreiser
Theodore Dreiser
Theodore Herman Albert Dreiser was an American novelist and journalist of the naturalist school. His novels often featured main characters who succeeded at their objectives despite a lack of a firm moral code, and literary situations that more closely resemble studies of nature than tales of...
as well as reading political science
Political science
Political Science is a social science discipline concerned with the study of the state, government and politics. Aristotle defined it as the study of the state. It deals extensively with the theory and practice of politics, and the analysis of political systems and political behavior...
and American history. At the time of his death he had been accepted for graduate study at Princeton University
Princeton University
Princeton University is a private research university located in Princeton, New Jersey, United States. The school is one of the eight universities of the Ivy League, and is one of the nine Colonial Colleges founded before the American Revolution....
and hoped to write the "definitive history" of the Vietnam War. Shimkin's interest in military history led him to donate books on the subject to the Indiana University Library.
External links
- Freedom Forum Journalists Memorial: Alexander Shimkin.
- Nick Turse accepting Ridenhour Prize for Reportorial Distinction. (Contains tribute to Alexander Shimkin.)
- Christopher Hitchens, "The Case Against Henry Kissinger" (Part One), Harper's Magazine, February 2001. (Mentions Alexander Shimkin as Kevin Buckley's "friend and collaborator.")
- Christopher Hitchens. The Trial of Henry Kissinger, Verso: New York and London, 2001, p. 32. ISBN 1-85984-398-0 (Repeats reference to Alexander Shimkin in Harper's article.)