Thich Quang Duc , June 11, 1963 David Halberstam, a reporter for the New York Times covering the war in Vietnam, gave the following account: I was to see that sight again, but once was enough. Flames were coming from a human being; his body was slowly withering and shriveling up, his head blackening and charring. In the air was the smell of burning human flesh; human beings burn surprisingly quickly. Behind me I could hear the sobbing of the Vietnamese who were now gathering. I was too shocked to cry, too confused to take notes or ask questions, too bewildered to even think…. As he burned he never moved a muscle, never uttered a sound, his outward composure in sharp contrast to the wailing people around him. Diệm's appointment came after the French had been defeated at the Battle of Dien Bien Phu and were ready to withdraw from Indochina . At the start of 1955, French Indochina was dissolved, leaving Diệm in temporary control of the south. [11] A referendum was scheduled for October 23, 1955 to determine the future direction of the south. Campaigning for Bảo Đại was prohibited, and the result was rigged. Diệm recorded 98.2% of the vote, including 605,025 votes in Saigon, where only 450,000 voters were registered. Diệm's tally also exceeded the registration numbers in other districts. [14] [12] Three days later, Diệm proclaimed the formation of the Republic of Vietnam , naming himself President. http://whitelead.com/jrh/screenshots/ http://www.tfaoi.com/aa/2aa/2aa101.htm
Kim Phúc was a resident in the village of Trang Bang , South Vietnam . On June 8, 1972, South Vietnamese planes , in coordination with the American military, dropped a napalm bomb on Trang Bang, which was under attack from and occupied by North Vietnamese forces . She joined a group of civilians and South Vietnamese soldiers fleeing from the Cao Dai Temple located in the village along the road to safe South Vietnamese positions. A South Vietnamese pilot mistook the group as a threat and diverted to attack it. Along with other villagers two of Kim Phúc's cousins were killed. Associated Press photographer Nick Út earned a Pulitzer Prize for the photograph. It was also the World Press Photo of the year 1972. The image of her running naked amidst the chaotic background became one of the most remembered images of the Vietnam War . The photograph he snapped of her agony was instantly transmitted around the world. It would win him a Pulitzer and change both their lives. Kim would spend the next 14 months in the hospital. She was covered with third-degree burns over half her body and was not expected to live. Her pain was almost unbearable. Her surgeon Dr. Mark Gorney of San Francisco volunteered at the Barksy children's plastic surgery hospital in Saigon. When he first saw her, Kim's chin was welded to her chest by scar tissue and her left arm was burnt almost to the bone. "I'm wondering if that was fixed," Nixon mused after seeing the photograph. http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2002/02/28/politics/main502490.shtml http://www.peace.ca/kimstory.htm
General Nguyen Ngoc Loan Executing a Viet Cong Prisoner in Saigon is a photograph taken by Eddie Adams on February 1 , 1968 . It shows South Vietnamese National Police Chief Nguyễn Ngọc Loan executing a Viet Cong officer in Saigon during the Tet Offensive . The event was also captured by NBC News film cameras, but Adams' photograph remains the defining image. http://www.newseum.org/warstories/interviews/mp3/journalists/bio.asp?ID=22
Hubert van Es is the Dutch photographer who took the well-known photo of the Fall of Saigon on April 30 , 1975 , which shows South Vietnamese civilians scrambling to board a CIA Air America helicopter during the U.S. evacuation of Saigon. “ Around 2:30 in the afternoon, while I was working in the darkroom, I suddenly heard Bert Okuley shout, "Van Es, get out here, there's a chopper on that roof!" I grabbed my camera and the longest lens left in the office - it was only 300 millimeters, but it would have to do - and dashed to the balcony. Looking at the Pittman Apartments, I could see 20 or 30 people on the roof, climbing the ladder to an Air America Huey helicopter. At the top of the ladder stood an American in civilian clothes, pulling people up and shoving them inside. Of course, there was no possibility that all the people on the roof could get into the helicopter, and it took off with 12 or 14 on board. (The recommended maximum for that model was eight.) Those left on the roof waited for hours, hoping for more helicopters to arrive.”
