Photographer Don McCullin to focus on Vietnam for his latest book | Don McCullin

After than seventy years covering the conflict around the world, Don McCullin will return to Vietnam with his famous photos for his last book.

The artist, who started at the age of 23 when his picture of gang in Finsbury Park published in the Observer, he has decided to relive the war and the 12 days he spent with US troops during the Battle of Hue in 1968.

McCullin’s photos from the war, including an American soldier who was hit by a bullet, are some of the most famous images of the conflict and are credited with helping to change the way people think about the US war.

McCullin said he is still haunted by the images he captured during the bloodiest and most famous battle Disappointingwho described them as “madness and absolute madness”.

“They bother me at night when I sleep,” he said. “They come to me uninvited and then I start saying: ‘Could I have done better? The real war I was in, the last major war I was in was in 1968. I saw many American soldiers killed around me.”

One of his writers for the Sunday Times was Harold Evanswho said that McCullin’s secret was compassion for his subject – whether they were criminals in north London or criminals in central Africa. He combined “a cold eye informed by the warmth of his compassion”, according to Evans.

Before he was sent to Vietnam, McCullin had cut his teeth conflicts in the Congo in the bloody, chaos ahead of freedom and Cyprus, where he covered civil war between Turkish and Greek factions. He was also there as a secretary The Berlin Wall was being built and the iron curtain was erected across Europe.

He retired from military photography at the age of 75, having gone to Aleppo in Syria and no longer had enough phones to leave quickly if necessary. Since then he has published books about his other interests, including ancient Rome.

So why return to the war that his last book, called Vietnam. Why not check out his work in Belfast or Biafra? “For all the wars that have happened in the last 20, 30 or 40 years, there was no war like Vietnam,” he said. “It is sad that 58,000 American soldiers died and 300,000 were wounded.

McCullin served 16 tours in Vietnam. His new book includes 100 photos and scenes from the war, including his helmet with “Times England” written on the side and his mud compass.

McCullin, now 91, is arguably Britain’s most famous artist. He’s had some old sightings Father Britaintraveling exhibitions of his work have spread around the world and he continues to work from in Somerset.

Although his photography often brought the horrors of war to the attention of many people and often helped to establish a moral case to end conflicts, he does not believe that his images can change.

He said: “I didn’t do anything. I came with these pictures and they were published and people were surprised to see them. But look at the wars that have happened since Vietnam war. They too have been unfortunate. I have seen many wars in Lebanon, and it is still going on. How can I change, really?”

The book will be released in October via Read books.