The “Napalm Girl” 50 years later: The story of the most defining photograph of the Vietnam War

The terrifying photo of children fleeing a deadly napalm attack has become a defining image not only of Vietnam War but also of 20th century. The dark smoke that rises behind them, makes the landscape eerie, while the faces of young people are painted with a mixture of terror, pain and confusion. Soldiers of the 25th Division of the South Vietnamese Army follow helplessly behind them.

Pulled outside the village of Trang Bang at June 8, 1972the image captures the trauma and indiscriminate violence of a conflict which, according to some estimates, cost one million or more civilian lives. Although it is officially entitled “The terror of war“, The photo is better known by the nickname given to her by the badly burned, naked 9-year-old child in the center:”Napalm Girl».

The girl, who has since been recognized as the Phan Thi Kim Phuc, she eventually survived her injuries and this is due, in part, to Associated Press photographer Nick Ut, who helped the children after taking his now iconic image.. Fifty years after that fateful day, the two are still in regular contact and use their story to spread a message of peace. “I will never forget that moment,” Phuc told CNN.

The chronicle of the legendary photo with “Napalm Girl”

Her children’s village Trang Bang, less than 30 miles northwest Saigon (today Ho Chi Minh City), was then occupied by communist forces from the north of the country. According to a New York Times article at the time, his army South Vietnam had spent three days trying to evict them and reopen the nearby highway. That morning, Southern Air Force sends propeller-driven Skyraider planes to drop napalm -a substance that causes severe burns and sticks to targets- in enemy positions.

Phuc and her family had taken refuge with other South Vietnamese citizens and soldiers in a Buddhist temple. When they heard their army planes over their heads, the soldiers urged everyone to leave, fearing an attack. Tragically, their team passed for the enemy.

“I turned my head, saw the planes and saw four bombs landing,” Phuc said. “Then, suddenly, there was fire everywhere and my clothes were burned by the fire. At that moment I did not see anyone around me, only fire “. “I still remember what I thought,” he added. “I thought, ‘My God, I’m burnt, I’ll be ugly and people will see me differently.’ “But I was so terrified.”

Phuc tore off what was left of her clothes and ran to Route 1. Vietnamese photographer Ut, who was 21 at the timewas among several journalists who had been stationed outside the village awaiting further clashes that day.

“I saw Kim running and (shouting in Vietnamese)” It’s very hot! “Very hot!” He told CNN in a video call from Los Angeles. “When I photographed her, I saw that her body had burned so badly and I wanted to help her immediately. “I left all my camera equipment down on the highway and put water on her body.”

Ut then put the injured children in his van and drove them to a nearby hospital for 30 minutes. But when they arrived, the hospital told him that there was no room and that he would have to take them to Saigon.

“I said, ‘If he spends another hour (without treatment), he will die,'” he recalled, adding that he initially feared that Phuc had already died in his vehicle on the way.

Ut eventually persuaded the doctors to accept them, showing him his press card and telling them that the image of the children would become known in all the newspapers of the world the next day. Speaking at Vanity Fair in 2015, he recalled his exact words to the hospital as follows: “If one of them dies, you will have a problem».

From the hospital, Ut went to the Associated Press office in Saigon to view the photos. His pictures told much of the story of the day: A bomb dropped in the air under a Skyraider, dense black smoke rising from the Trang Bang, a victim being transported on a makeshift stretcher. A lesser-known image shows television crews and South Vietnamese soldiers gathered around Phuc, with the skin of her back and arms burnt by the flammable jelly that made napalm such a controversial weapon.

A Pulitzer Prize-winning photo

But the photographer knew immediately that one image stood out from the rest. “When I returned to my office, the darkroom technician and everyone who saw the photo immediately told me that it was very loud and that the photo would win Pulitzer.”

And they were right as well in 1973 Ut was awarded the Pulitzer Prize for his journalistic photography. His image was also proclaimed photo of the year in the world pressafter appearing on the front pages more than 20 top US daily newspapers.

Symbol of anti-war sentiment

There is no evidence, according to CNN, to support the occult claim that the “Napalm Girl” hastened the end of the Vietnam Warwhich lasted until 1975 and saw the Communists finally take control of the US-backed south of the country.

Nor does it seem to have greatly influenced American public opinion, which had already turned against US involvement in the conflict since the late 1960s (the US military presence in South Vietnam had, after almost two decades, almost completely withdrawn since Ut immortalized his image). ). But the photograph nevertheless became a symbol of anti-war sentiment.

The depiction of the horror of the Napalm was so painful that the Richard Nixon wondered in person if it was made. In his recordings White House released decades later, the US president assumed the photo was directed -a accusation that Ut said had upset him a lot.

Phuc’s life after the legendary photo

Phuc, meanwhile, spent 14 months in hospitals to deal with her injuries, while two of her cousins ​​were killed in the bombing. But he tried to overcome the attack and the image that everyone saw.

“As a child, I was so ashamed to be honest,” he said. “I did not like this image at all. Why did he take my photo? I never wanted to see her. “

She dreamed of becoming a doctor, but the communist government of Vietnam quickly removed her from medical school to use her in propaganda campaigns.. She remembers journalists traveling from abroad to hear her story, but she struggled with attention.

“It really affected my privacy,” he said, adding that he sometimes wanted to “disappear.” “I could not go to school. I could not fulfill my dreams. And so, in a way, I hated it. “

A symbol of hope

Only when Phuc received political asylum from Canada in 1992felt the inspiration to use her personal tragedy for the wider good. He wrote a book for her experiences and founded the Kim Foundation International, a charity that helps children in war. It was named United Nations Goodwill Ambassador in 1997 and gives speeches around the world about her life story and the power of forgiveness.

Last month, she and Ut – whom she affectionately calls her “uncle” – presented a copy of the photo to Pope Franciscisco in St. Peter’s Square.

“I realized, ‘Wow, this photo has become a powerful gift to me – I can use it to work for peace, because this photo did not let me go,'” he said.

“Now I can look back and embrace it… I’m so grateful that (Ut) was able to capture that moment in history and record the horror of war, which can change the whole world. And that moment changed my attitude and my belief that I can keep my dream alive to help others. “

After years of surgery and treatment, Phuc is still suffering from the burns she suffered that day. She recently underwent laser treatment in the United States, although she is in constant pain due to her injuries.

But now having two children of her own, Phuc credits her Christian faith for helping her “move forward.” «Now, 50 years later, I am so grateful that I am no longer a victim of war. I am a survivor and I have the opportunity to work for peace».