Vietnam combat journalist donates photos to McKeesport museum
The McKeesport Regional History & Heritage Center now owns a disc containing more than 400 photographs captured by U.S. military correspondents during the Vietnam War.
Anthony G. “Tony” Popowitz, a 72-year-old lifelong resident of McKeesport’s Grandview neighborhood, was a journalist petty officer 3rd class in the U.S Navy under the command of Gen. William C. Westmoreland during the Vietnam War from June 1967 to July 1968.
“My job was to go out into the field and write stories,” Popowitz said. “Every Friday night I had to be back in Saigon (Ho Chi Minh City,Vietnam) to my office so I could start typing up the news stories. … On Sunday, you’d come in and send it out over the wire to United Press International, Associated Press, Army Times, Navy Times, Marine Corps Times and all these other newspapers.”
Tony also wrote for an in-country command newspaper called the Jack Staff News.
During his time in the war, Popowitz covered a wide range of topics, but he preferred human interest reporting.
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