February 1, 1968: A photo changes the course of the Vietnam War.
A picture is worth a thousand words is a cliche beyond parody, but sometimes it rings true and those words can change the course of a devastating war.
On this day in 1968, the Vietnam War had been raging between North and South for nearly 13 years. The US acted as a proxy war for the Cold War belligerents, the US and the USSR, and had increased their involvement since 1961 by sending troops abroad.
Despite the huge number of troops sent to Vietnam, opposition to the war in the US was only 32% in 1967. That all changed when Viet Cong Captain Nguyễn Văn Lém was brought before South Vietnamese Army Brigadier General Nguyễn Ngọc Loan in a square in Saigon (now Ho Chi Minh City).
Lém, also known as Bảy Lốp, was in charge of a death squad. He had been captured after killing South Vietnamese officer Nguyễn Tuân along with six members of Tuân’s family.
South Vietnamese troops escort suspected Viet Cong officer Nguyen Van Lem (aka Bay Lop) down a street in Saigon on Feb. 1, 1968. Photo: Eddie Adams/AP
When brought before Brigadier General Loan, he did not hesitate to pass judgment. He immediately pulled out a pistol and shot Lém in the head. Lem was 36 years old.
Not expecting the summary execution, the Associated Press photographer captured the precise moment the bullet entered Lém’s head. The incident was also filmed by NBC News television cameraman Võ Sửu.
Adams’ photo and Sửu’s video footage quickly spread through the media and changed public perceptions in the U.S. of the war. When Lém was killed while wearing normal civilian clothes, many saw him as an innocent bystander and questioned whether the story the US media and government were telling them about the war’s success was accurate.
South Vietnamese general Nguyen Ngoc Loan, chief of the national police, puts his weapon in his den after executing suspected Viet Cong officer Nguyen Van Lem. Photo: Eddie Adams/AP
Watching an ally of the US government unceremoniously execute a man sparked a conversation about justification of the country’s role in the war. While many other incidents turned the tide of public perception, the photo was an important cultural moment that marked a shift to anti-Vietnam War beliefs in the 1970s, ultimately leading to the end of the war in 1975.
The photo earned Adams a Pulitzer Prize, but it continued to haunt him. “I got money for showing how one man killed another. Two lives were destroyed and I got paid for it. I was a hero,” he said. In Time magazine, he explained: “Two people died in that photo. The General killed the Viet Cong; I killed the general with my camera.”
Nevertheless, Adams believed that photographs “are the most powerful weapon in the world.”
By Jonny Walfisz. This article was first seen on Euro news
