In 1951, when Leif Marøy was 10 years old, his family moved from Arna in Bergen, Norway to Minneapolis in Minnesota, USA. 15 years later he found himself sitting on a plane bound for the Vietnam War, to serve his duty as a jet fighter mechanic in the American Air Force.

Marøy was a keen photographer, and through the lens he captured many impressions that have stayed with him throughout his life. He particularly remembers the time he and some fellow airmen built a school for Vietnamese children who lived close to the air base. But mostly, he remembers this: There is nothing glorious about war.

Marøy and his parents and brother returned to Norway not long after his return from the war, a war in which his cousin died.

Photo credit: Britt Embry