Subject of Famous Vietnam War Photograph Spreads Hope, 37 Years Later

Nick Ut's photograph of a 9 year old Kim Phuc covered in burning Napalm helped change the course of history.

Just the other day, I wrote about an AP story regarding the release of some graphic photographs that captured the death of a US Marine. At the center of the debate is a divide on whether the AP was justified in releasing the photographs of Lance Cpl. Joshua M. Bernard in his final moments, or if the agency had an inherent expectation to do so. And while that debate continues, Kim Phuc, the subject of a very emotional and (in)famous Vietnam Photograph taken by AP photographer Nick Ut–who later won a Pulitzer Prize for the photograph, has used the fame of the photograph to spread peace throughout the world.

“Sixty-five percent of my body got burned…I should be dead …So now I think, ‘I cannot change something that happened to me already. But I can change the meaning.’ Phuc said in an interview with HealthDay.

Phuc has dedicated her life to speaking out to burn victims and providing them hope.  Beyond her current role, however, many argue that the photograph of Phuc altered the course of history. With the debate over privacy in wartime continuing, The Photo Dictionary poses this question: Would Phuc’s influence be the same without the release of her photograph?

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Tags: afghanistan, AP, associated press, Iraq, kim phuc, napalm, nick ut, vietnam, war, wartime photography

This entry was posted on Friday, September 11th, 2009 at 3:54 am and is filed under News, Photography News, Photojournalism. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed.