The Temporality of Familial Displacement

This watch belonged to a pilot in the Republic of Vietnam Air Force named Bùi Đại Giang. In July of 1966, he went missing, and his family, who fled during the war, never knew what happened to him. Bùi Đại Giang’s sister-in-law, Phạm Kha, resolved to find out what happened to him, and she returned to Vietnam to see what she could find. After two years, she finally found the remains of his plane, which had crashed into a swamp. Along with the plane, many of Bùi Đại Giang’s personal belongings were left behind like this watch. The watch, a silver waterproof 1966 Seiko Sportsmatic with only one remaining wristband, is severely damaged and forever stopped at the time 11:46. This is presumed to be the time that Bùi Đại Giang’s plane went down and he passed, and it is thus also when time stopped for his family, who never could truly move forward until they could find closure.