At first glance, the new photography exhibit at the Herbert Hoover Memorial Exhibit Pavilion seems simple. White space is used consistently throughout the exhibit, the empty walls displaying only a few black and white photographs each. Two short films are projected in a makeshift theater tucked away in the corners of the Pavilion, and four wooden tables in the center of the room display photographs, letters, books, music scores and newspaper clippings, all dating back to the Vietnam War era.

This simplicity is the true beauty of the exhibit “We Shot the War: ‘Overseas Weekly’ in Vietnam.” The phrase “a picture is worth a thousand words” seems to be the central focus of this exhibit, each brutally human photograph speaking for itself. While walking through the exhibit, one can see that these pictures do not aim to show the violence of the war, but rather to highlight the lives of soldiers and citizens alike.