While we were on our way [to Tiananmen Square], the military charged in and slaughtered hundreds of protesters. With the help of university students, we covered the aftermath of the massacre as the government imposed martial law in Beijing. The students had loaned us bicycles, and one night, after curfew, they led us to a large shed near a hospital. We broke in and discovered that it was filled with body bags of the murdered protesters. I uncovered the bodies, and as it was dark, I had to use the flash on my camera. This aroused attention from a trailer near the shed and the authorities began to show up with flashlights. We ran and managed to get away on our bikes. These students had risked their lives for us. Since we feared having the film confiscated at the international airport, we made our way to Guangzhou on a domestic flight. Because there was a news blackout, the authorities in Guangzhou were not aware enough to search us at the airport and we took a train to Hong Kong, where Joe wrote the story. I connected with Newsweek and sent the film to the Voice in their pouch. The Voice was the first paper anywhere to publish photographs of the murdered Chinese citizens.
-James Hamilton ‘The Village in 41 photos‘ The Village Voice
The Metal Detector 