Today we would like to talk about a photo taken in 1982 during the Vietnam War. It depicts children fleeing the bombing in the village of Changbang. There was a battle between units of the North and South Vietnamese armies, witnessed by an American correspondent of Vietnamese descent, Nick Ut. The photo, which became known around the world, was named “Napalm in Vietnam" or “Girl with Napalm". This work, its author and the extraordinary influence on the events of that time are described below.

History of the picture

The photo was taken on June 8, 1972 in the village of Changbang during a false air attack. A group of people, including a 9-year-old girl named Kim Fuq, fled a North Vietnamese army-occupied town. A pilot of the South Vietnamese Air Force mistakenly mistaken civilians for soldiers and attacked them with napalm bombs. Not everyone managed to escape the shelling, and those who survived received severe burns. So it was with Kim Fook, who, in pain and despair, took off her burning clothes on the go.

Photojournalist Nick Uta managed to capture the moment immediately after the attack. He then took the injured children to a hospital in Kuta and went to great lengths to save their lives.

The subsequent fate of the victims and the role of Nick Uta in it

Immediately after the attack, the photographer and the military took the victims to the hospital. In the worst condition was Kim Fuk, who received third-degree burns. Local doctors said the wounds were too severe, so the girl could not be saved. Due to his high moral principles, Nick Ut could not allow this, so he connected all his journalistic connections so that the girl would still receive proper treatment. As a result of the actions of Nick and his colleagues, Kim still got to the American hospital, which had the necessary equipment and specialists, underwent 17 surgeries and got to his feet for almost two years. Nick had been visiting her all this time. As you know, they still communicate.

After recovering for a long time, Kim was used by the Vietnamese government as an anti-war symbol, so she was unable to study and live normally. Only a few years after the end of the war, the girl was allowed to leave Vietnam to study in Cuba, but she was still under surveillance there. She later met her future husband, and during their honeymoon they managed to escape and seek political asylum in Canada. They still live there with their family.

Publication of the photo in the media and the resonance it caused

Immediately after the photo was taken, Nick passed it on to his American leadership. The editors of the New York Times did not initially dare to consider the photo for publication because of the nudity, but eventually approved it. A cropped version of the photo – with removed photojournalists on the right – was posted on the front page of the New York Times and a myriad of other publications the following day.

According to historians, because the frame caused a wild resonance in the world, it became the last emotional “drop", which outweighed the scales in favor of ending hostilities in Vietnam. The topic, which was kept silent, did not leave the minds of many people for a long time.

American researchers of social culture Robert Harriman and John Louis Lukaits wrote that the photo shows “a picture that should not be shown, about an event that should not be." They believed that pain was the main thing in this photo and in general “the frame projects the suffering of a little girl around the world." Perhaps that is why photography has had such a huge impact on future events.

It should be noted that the author of the film “Napalm in Vietnam" Nick Ut later received the Pulitzer Prize for it – the most outstanding recognition in the field of journalism and literature in the world.

In 2016, Napalm in Vietnam topped the list of the 100 most important photos ever taken, according to TIME magazine. And in 2019, it was recognized as the most powerful news image in the last 50 years.

By the way, next week the legendary photo will be 50 years old.