Byron G. Highland

{{Short description|American photographer (1934–1967)}}

{{Infobox military person

|name= Byron G. Highland

|birth_date= {{Birth date|1934|2|18}}

|death_date= {{Death date and age|1967|2|21|1934|2|18}}

|birth_place= Detroit, Michigan, U.S.

|death_place= Street Without Joy, Thừa Thiên Province, South Vietnam

|placeofburial=

|placeofburial_label=

|image=File:Byron G. Highland during Operation Chinook II.jpg

|caption=Byron G. Highland during Operation Chinook II

|nickname=

|allegiance= United States

|branch=23px United States Marine Corps

|serviceyears= 1953–1967

|rank= Gunnery sergeant

|commands=

|unit=

|battles=Korean War
Vietnam War{{KIA}}

|awards=

}}

Byron G. Highland (February 8, 1934 – February 21, 1967) was a United States Marine Corps combat photographer during the Vietnam War who was killed by a landmine[http://www.historynet.com/wars_conflicts/vietnam_war/3807101.html Bernard B. Fall: Vietnam War Author] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071011021125/http://www.historynet.com/wars_conflicts/vietnam_war/3807101.html# |date=2007-10-11 }}, by Charles E. Kirkpatrick, TheHistoryNet{{cite book | last =Tagliaferri | first =Alivia C. | title =Still the Monkey: What Happens to Warriors After War? | publisher =Ironcutter Media | pages =116 | url =https://books.google.com/books?id=lD6REIHjKMYC&q=%22byron+highland%22 | isbn =978-0-9788417-3-7| date =2007-03-01 }} alongside the war correspondent and historian Bernard B. Fall while observing Operation Chinook II on the Street Without Joy, Thừa Thiên Province on 21 February 1967, leaving behind his wife, and two sons and a daughter from a previous marriage.{{cite web|url=http://thewall-usa.com/info.asp?recid=23123 |title=GSGT Byron Grant Highland |publisher=The Vietnam Veterans Memorial Wall |url-status=dead |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20120326190451/http://thewall-usa.com/info.asp?recid=23123 |archivedate=2012-03-26 }}

The last few minutes which the two spent together are documented in Fall's posthumously published book

Last Reflections on a War, via a tape recorder Fall was dictating into just prior to the explosion.Fall, Bernard B., Last Reflections On a War: Bernard B. Fall's Last Comments on Viet-nam, Doubleday, Garden City: 1967

Born in Detroit, he entered the Marines in 1953, and also served in the Korean War.

His eldest son, Kenneth E. Highland, later recorded a song with the punk band Johnny and the Jumper Cables, entitled "Landmine", about his father's death.{{Cite web|title = Johnny And The Jumper Cables* – Death Squad Of The Mind / Landmine|url = http://www.discogs.com/Johnny-And-The-Jumper-Cables-Death-Squad-Of-The-Mind-Landmine/release/2594693|website = Discogs| year=1988 |accessdate = 2015-10-05}}