Chick Harrity, Photographer Who Covered Vietnam and Eight Presidents, Dies at 87

Chick Harrity, a photographer whose career carried him from the battlefields of Vietnam to the White House press corps, has died at the age of 87, his family announced.

Harrity is remembered for one of the most widely recognised images of the Vietnam War: a baby girl lying in a box beside her brother in Saigon, then the capital of South Vietnam. The photograph became a lasting visual record of the conflict.

"Chick was an amazing photographer," said retired photojournalist Nick Ut, a fellow Vietnam War photographer. "We all walked by this homeless boy near a woman selling cigarettes, but Chick saw the photo."

His path into photography began in his hometown of Reading, Pennsylvania, where an eighth-grade teacher encouraged him to pick up a camera. His wife of 51 years, Yvonne Henry, described that nudge in an online obituary as the start of "a lifelong journey documenting the world around him."

Harrity joined a Reading newspaper in 1956 and later spent 26 years at a wire service, 13 of them in its Washington bureau. He went on to serve as chief photographer at U.S. News and World Report.

"I had the chance to run around the world taking pictures of a group of pretty interesting people. I was getting to witness history," Harrity said in his family's obituary.

As a member of the White House press corps for 33 years, he covered presidents from Lyndon B. Johnson to George W. Bush. He was at the White House to document Richard Nixon's resignation, and one photograph from August 9, 1974, captured a teary-eyed Nixon bidding farewell to White House staff.

Harrity served in the Air National Guard and attended Kent State University. An internal article described him as the organisation's Albany photographer and noted his habit of writing and photographing stories "as a unit."

His assignments also took him to protests across Washington and Milwaukee during the 1960s and 1970s. Sent to Vietnam to help cover the effects of the Paris Peace Accords, he showed a talent for quickly building relationships in an unfamiliar country, said retired photographer Neal Ulevich.

"Chick was not only a top-notch shooter but outstanding at getting along with everyone in a situation that he was new to," Ulevich said.

His wife recalled a keen sense of comedy that shaped both his work and his personal life. "The guy had a fantastic sense of humor in every single part of his life," Henry said. "He always looked for something funny." Asked about her husband's obituary, she said his own summary would be: "It's been a wonderful ride."

Harrity retired from U.S. News on April Fool's Day 2001 and moved to northern California, where he contributed to the Calistoga Tribune and local arts organisations.

Over his career he received the wire service's managing editors' award for excellence in photography, the National Press Photographers' Association's Joseph Sprague memorial award, the Leica Medal of Excellence for photojournalism and the White House National Press Association's lifetime achievement award. He was also named photographer of the year by the White House News Photographers Association.

Besides his wife, Harrity is survived by what his family obituary described as "interesting, amusing, and treasured family and friends." It added: "He loved well. He was well loved."