How photos of grief became symbolic of the anti-war movement

In 1966, photographer Costa Manos stumbled on a funeral for a young US soldier killed in Vietnam. In the seventh video of Culture’s Through the Lens series, he describes taking pictures that went on to become iconic for the anti-war movement.

“To be a good photographer, you have to know what you’re looking for,” says Costa Manos in this video, the seventh in Culture’s Through the Lens series marking the 70th anniversary of Magnum Photos.

 -       The photos that changed history

-       The photographer who captured the ‘swinging 60s’

-       Surprising photos of Muhammad Ali

In 1966, Manos was on an assignment to photograph the landscapes of the US South when he spotted a brown Army bus parked outside a wooden church in South Carolina. Walking behind the church, he saw mourners waiting for a funeral and, after asking permission, Manos photographed the burial of a young soldier who had been killed in Vietnam.

One of his images became an anti-war poster. “That was the time when people were protesting against the war, and this became a real protest picture,” says Manos. “It’s a historical picture because it’s a specific moment in that war that shows how it touched ordinary people.”

If you would like to comment on this story or anything else you have seen on BBC Culture, head over to our Facebook page or message us on Twitter.

And if you liked this story, sign up for the weekly bbc.com features newsletter, called “If You Only Read 6 Things This Week”. A handpicked selection of stories from BBC Future, Earth, Culture, Capital and Travel, delivered to your inbox every Friday.