15 March 2009

Followup on a famous Vietnam napalm incident





The top photo is an iconic image of the Vietnam War, readily recognizable by all those of my generation who were draft age in the late 60s. Never before have I taken the time to actually learn about the event, the little girl, or the photographer; I did so today after encountering the followup photos here and a discussion at Reddit.

The incident occurred when South Vietnamese planes dropped napalm on a South Vietnamese village occupied by North Vietnamese troops, resulting in "collateral damage" to many children, who came running down the road. The little girl was/is Kim Phuc, now a Canadian citizen and shown in the two photos above. The photographer was Nick Ut, who earned a Pulitzer Prize for the top photo.

The video is powerful, and is presented without overdubbing or commentary. It speaks for itself.

5 comments:

  1. é necessário que se conheça o passado para que se pense no futuro da humanidade como seres Divinos e predestinados à felicidade aquí na terra. Parabéns pelo artigo.

    ReplyDelete
  2. I think it is interesting that Nick Ut is now photographing the likes of Paris Hilton.

    I think it says more about the state of current journalism than it does about him.

    http://www.latimes.com/news/local/la-me-paris-hilton-photo20-2009jan20,0,6312254.story

    ReplyDelete
  3. Ponder this.

    If the USSR had not been so aggressive, in action and words, I believe it is likely that the USA would not have been so quick to enter Vietnam.

    The USA WAS fearful of a "domino effect."

    It IS conceivable that showing resolve in Vietnam may have prevented a larger war elsewhere, perhaps even a full-scale nuclear barrage.

    Sadly, the USA could have been a friend with Vietnam but our thoughts were centered elsewhere.

    The USA should have ordered France to stay out of Vietnam after World War Two.

    Yeah, shoulda' this and shoulda' that.

    Also, the graft and corruption of the South Vietnamese governments over the years caused irreparable harm.

    The war that should never have been fought and the USA could have had a friend all those years.

    One problem... the greed of the USA's elite class and corporate America.

    Uncle Ho was socialistic so the few in the USA that "control the show" thought they could skim more money from the Vietnamese with fellow scam artists in charge.

    One reason to never ever trust the USA's elite class or their lackeys infesting the political systems, especially at the federal level.

    On a final note, I am convinced that the USA is in the throes of class warfare and has been for at least three decades.

    Sadly, I believe the greatest threat to the freedoms and economic well-being to the masses of Americans is by our own elite class and their minions.

    ReplyDelete
  4. John Plummer had no more to do with the bombed than I did.
    He lied, then he made a career out of it.
    http://www.11thcavnam.com/education/pastor_admits_lying_about_vietna.htm
    http://www.ndqsa.com/myth.html

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Interesting. I've revised the post by deleting reference to Plummer.

      Thanks for the info and links, Justin.

      Delete

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