Remembering cameraman Derek Williams, "the mate you would want in any war zone"

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Longtime CBS News cameraman Derek Williams, who spent 4 decades covering immoderate of Asia's astir pivotal events, from the Vietnam War to the Tiananmen Square massacre, has died. He was 79.

Williams died Wednesday, according to his family. He had been surviving with Parkinson's illness and was precocious diagnosed with cancer.

Susan Zirinsky, erstwhile CBS News president and president of See It Now Studios, recalled that Williams was "everything — the mate you would privation successful immoderate warfare zone." She described him arsenic "intuitive," "a large cameraman," and said "he saw things coming earlier they came."

"Most of each Derek was a large quality — a radical of america were privileged to beryllium connected a predominant email of his satellite contiguous — each email was similar a ocular representation that helium mightiness person changeable if covering a story," Zirinsky said. "My past email from him was July 2nd. Hard to ideate a satellite that doesn't person Derek's wit and imaginativeness and humanity successful it. I miss the emails already."

"I'm profoundly saddened to perceive of Derek Williams's passing," CBS News veteran Dan Rather said successful a societal media post. "He was 1 of the bravest and a large CBS News cameraman. The images helium captured beautifully told the communicative of a unsafe satellite — from the Middle East to South Asia and beyond. He was besides a large man."

Williams began his vocation with a three-month proceedings moving for CBS successful Hong Kong.

"I retrieve that nighttime going backmost to the edifice and I couldn't sleep, I was feeling benignant of ill, and I felt, is this right? Is this however I privation to walk the remainder of my life, astir being a vulture?" Williams told the Australian Broadcasting Corporation successful 2017.

"I was doing dependable with a precise nonrecreational German cameraman, who conscionable said, 'Hey, you'll utilized to it. You know, you'll get a rhino-skin successful this job,'" Williams said successful 2017.

Williams went connected to beryllium a cameraman moving successful Asia for 40 years, and besides covered the archetypal Iraq War and massacres successful Beirut.

Allen Pizzey, erstwhile CBS News overseas correspondent, recalled Beirut successful 1982, saying "Chaos the bid of the day."

"A CBS newbie nobody, who knew adjacent to thing astir TV, was foisted connected Derek Williams. With patience and his ever-present humour, Derek tutored maine however to spell astir making air, and much important, enactment harmless portion doing it," Pizzey, who spent 36 years astatine CBS News, said. "We worked unneurotic — though not often capable — for the adjacent respective decades, successful akin plot spots. If it ever wasn't fun, I can't retrieve the occasion."

Pizzey said Williams "was arsenic good a man, mentor and person arsenic helium was a cameraman. That's different mode of saying the best."

In June 1989, Williams and CBS News analogous Richard Roth were detained by Chinese authorities during the Tiananmen Square massacre. They would yet beryllium released, comparatively unharmed.

As Saigon's autumn became imminent, Williams told the Australian Broadcasting Corporation that helium joined his Vietnamese woman aft quality officers warned him the metropolis would soon collapse. He said helium utilized poker winnings to bribe a registry bureau to unfastened connected a Sunday for the wedding, past convinced New Zealand Embassy unit — who were scrambling to evacuate — to contented his caller woman a passport the adjacent day.

Williams had been surviving successful California with his woman since leaving Asia, but arsenic his wellness declined, helium returned to New Zealand to beryllium person to family.

Keith Kay, a erstwhile cameraman and shaper successful Vietnam, said Williams was "a joyousness and privilege to enactment oregon play with."

"I felt fortunate to person him successful my life," Kay said.

CBS News unit captured during Tiananmen Square massacre (1989) 05:17

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