A Compass and A Camera: A Year in Vietnam

Steven Burchik is a Vietnam veteran and retired U.S. Army Sergeant who served in the role of a forward observer with the army's 1st Infantry Division mortar platoon from June 1968 to June 1969.  

While in Vietnam, Sgt. Burchik brought a personal camera along to record the daily activities of his platoon. Over the course of his tour of duty, he took more than 4,000 photographs which he shipped home to his wife.

The photos were stored in a closet for decades, until a few years ago when he was asked to show them to a local high school English class. Following that presentation, a selection of sixty-five of his photos went on exhibition at the Lindsay Dirkx Brown Gallery in December 2014. The photos were later exhibited at the Contra Costa County Administration building in November 2015. 

Sgt. Burchik's extraordinary photos and the stories behind them were recently published in a book, Compass and a Camera, A Year in Vietnam.

Presiding on 7/25: President Sean Reinhart
Also on 7/25: María Ochoa - Blue Badge Ceremony