The first woman to receive the Robert Capa Gold Medal, which recognizes a reporter for their courage and independence, Catherine Leroy was one of the few female photographers to cover the Vietnam War between 1966 and 1968. She was just 21 years old when she flew to Saigon with a one-way ticket, carrying only a Leica camera and a hundred dollars. The young woman quickly befriended American soldiers and shared their daily lives—they belonged to the same generation. For three years, she covered the conflict close to the action. She followed patrols on missions, sharing the soldiers' rations and makeshift sleeping quarters.

Her tight framing and close proximity to the Marines capture the faces and bodies caught up in the turmoil of gunfire. In the heat and mud of the Vietnamese jungle, Catherine Leroy captures moments of courage, fear, and tension, but also friendship, solidarity, and the distress of young men struck down by the violence of the battlefield. Her lens captures the ferocity of the fighting, the despair of the Vietnamese people, and the devastation on both sides of the conflict. Taken prisoner in Hué by North Vietnamese soldiers during the Tet Offensive, she produced an exceptional report and made the cover of Life magazine. Her photographs were seen around the world.

The only civilian woman to parachute with the US Army, Leroy paved the way for her fellow female war reporters. Her images, published in prestigious international magazines, bear witness to the sharpness of a unique photographic eye: that of one of the very first women to be involved in combat in a predominantly male professional world. Her audacity, curiosity, and keen eye give her photographs extraordinary visual power. This book, which includes Catherine Leroy's correspondence with her parents from 1966 to 1968, reveals the emergence of a young photojournalist and recounts her journey of discovery: a life combining political, social, and feminist commitment.