She fled from Vietnam in 1975, and after shuttling through military bases in the Philippines, Wake Island, Guam, finally settling in Sacramento, California.
Lê took various shots of action and solitude during a Vietnam War re-enactment, and as a condition for photographing the "battles", she was required to participate herself, assuming the role of a Viet Cong sniper.
Lê then began her work on 29 Palms (2003–04), the site of production being a Marine Corps Air Ground Combat Center in California, where training and preparation of American troops take place.
[8] Since 2015, she has been expanding on her newest project, Silent General (2015-)[9] which reflects the current climate and culture within American politics and society.
This project was prompted by the 2015 mass church shooting in Charleston, South Carolina, and ties in historic and contemporary issues such as the Civil War, racial tension, and the erasure of history are prevalent throughout the series.