Iconic Image 7

Welcome back viewers

This month's Iconic Image is...

The Kiss of Life

Intro

This photograph depicts two construction workers dangling from a power line. One of them is completely limp, while the other man is holding him in his arms. He is holding his head and giving him CPR. The image would become a symbol of human determination and companionship. 

Part I

The photograph was taken on July 17, 1967. On that day, Rocco Morabito of the Jacksonville Journal was heading to document a strike by railroad workers. When he was about half way to the strike, he noticed two Jacksonville Electric Authority linemen working on the poles on West 26th Street. Rocco figured that a picture of linemen silhouetted against the sky would make a good picture. He decided that he would return to West 26th Street once he was done with the train strike, he would circle back to the linemen.

After taking a few pictures at the railroad strike, Rocco quickly returned to the linemen. As he got closer he began to hear screams and calls for help. He quickly rushed to the scene and saw something that took his breath away. One of the linemen was dangling from his safety belt while completely limp. Rocco quickly raised his camera as another lineman ran over to the telephone pole and began climbing to his co-worker. He snapped a couple of photographs as the rescuer grabbed his co-worker and began to perform CPR. 

Part II

Both men in the photograph have been identified. The hero of the image is J.D. Thompson. The man being rescued was named, Randall Champion. Thompson was working on a pole adjacent to his colleague when he heard the unmistakable noise of electricity short circuiting. He looked and saw to his horror, that Champion had accidentally grabbed a hot wire. The wire sent more than 2400 jolts of electricity through the latter's system burning out his left foot and knocking him unconscious.

Fearing the worst, Thompson quickly descended from his pole and climbed up to Champion (another linemen quickly cut the power to the wire). When he reached him, Thompson noticed that Champion was turning a deep grayish blue. He quickly cradled his colleague's head in his left arm and proceeded to breath directly into Champion's mouth. He did this while pounding the latter's back with his right arm. After doing this for nearly a minute, Thompson saw Champion's chest starting to rise. Seconds later, he regained consciousness. 

Moments later, an ambulance arrived and rushed Champion to the hospital. By then Rocco Morabito had captured the whole moment in a burst of photos. Little did he know, that one of them would become a major icon in the history of photography.

Epilogue

When Rocco Morabito submitted his photograph of J.D. Thompson giving CPR to Randall Champion, it instantly made the front page headlines of newspapers all around the world. It was labeled, "The Kiss of Life". People called it, "an incredible act of heroism, a life or death moment, all captured by Rocco in a split second". Ten months later, Rocco Morabito's image won the coveted Pulitzer Prize.

Although Randall Champion had suffered severe third degree burns on his left foot (and needed skin-grafts), he made a full recovery from the incident. He and J.D. Thompson remained close friends until his death in 2002. Thompson still lives in Florida. Despite being called a hero many times, he continually downplays his actions that day. When interviewed in 2017, Thompson was quoted as saying, "If other people were there, if I hadn't got there first, they would have done the exact same thing I did. It's been done many times before; peoples' lives were saved. But there were no pictures."

Rocco Morabito also remained good friends with both Champion and Thompson. He continued to work for the Jacksonville Journal until his retirement in 1982. He passed away on April 5, 2009, at the age of 88. Today, the Kiss of Life continues to awe and inspire millions of people all over the world. It is remembered as a great moment of friendship and humanity.

https://www.jacksonville.com/news/20170716/50-years-later-kiss-of-life-photo-still-stops-people-in-their-tracks

https://www.wusa9.com/article/news/kiss-of-life-hero-reflects-50-years-after-iconic-moment/65-454108459

https://mdorfster.wordpress.com/2011/02/17/critical-analysis-the-kiss-of-life/

https://allthatsinteresting.com/kiss-of-life

Hero of the Week 109

Welcome back viewers

This week's hero is...

Charles Gould

Intro

Charles Gilbert Gould was born on May 5, 1845, in Windham, Vermont. When he was a child he was severely burned on his legs when hot water spilled was spilled on him. He was unable to walk properly until he was six. But despite this setback, Charles was determined to serve his country. When war broke out between the states, he answered the call to duty. Little did he know, he would play a significant role in one of the most important battles. 

Part I

By 1865, the longest siege in American history was finally coming to an end. The Union Army of the Potomac had been attempting to break through the Confederate Army of Northern Virginia's trenches around the city of Petersburg ever since June 15, 1864. A series of battles had been fought around the city with tens of thousands of casualties on both sides.

Despite the heavy casualties, the tide of the war had slowly turned in the Union's favor. The Union armies and Navy had scored many important battlefield victories in Tennessee, Georgia, and the Shenandoah Valley. These coupled with President Lincoln's reelection in 1864, renewed the Union war effort and inspired many more young men to enlist and fight. On March 25, the Confederacy attempted to breakout from Petersburg by attacking a Union outpost at Fort Stedman. Although the Federal garrison was caught be surprise and initially forced to retreat, they were able to launch a successful counterattack that retook the fort.

The successful defense of Fort Stedman inspired General Grant to launch a new assault on Petersburg. Since the previous two assaults on the city had failed miserably, he chose to change tactics for this third attack. Instead of launching a direct frontal assault on the Confederate trenches in the light of day, the Union regiments would attack in the dead of night. The men who would be in the first wave were all from the 1st Vermont Infantry Brigade. And the man who would be spearheading this attack was, Captain Charles Gould.

Part II

Early in the morning of April 2, the men of Vermont Brigade crept out of their trenches. Captain Gould was in command of the 5th Vermont Infantry Regiment. Under the cover of darkness, they slowly advanced towards the Confederate line. When they approached the first enemy rifle pits, Gould ordered them to fix bayonets. He ordered a couple of soldiers to kill the Confederate sentries in the rifle pits. They did so, and the regiment continued it's advance. When they were near enough, Gould ordered them to charge.

Despite catching the Confederates by surprise, the attack quickly hit a snag. A number of unseen obstructions slowed down their advance and made them easy targets for the defenders. Just when it seemed that the attack would fail, Captain Gould ran ahead of the regiment. He drew his sword and charged directly into the Confederate trench. He was almost immediately confronted by enemy defenders. He is believed to have personally killed at least four Confederate soldiers before he was bayoneted in the left side of his face (the scar is visible above). Gould grabbed the enemy soldier's bayonet and pulled it out. He than stabbed his attacker through the neck and killed him. However, another Confederate soldier stabbed him in the back while another clubbed him in his head. 

Just when it seemed that Gould was going to be killed, his comrades burst into the trench and began to engage the Confederates. Inspired by Gould's valor and leadership, the men of the 5th Vermont overwhelmed the defenders and successfully captured the trenches. Once this line was pierced, the whole Confederate line began to break as more and more Federal soldiers poured through. 

Epilogue

For Robert E. Lee and the Confederate Army of Northern Virginia, the Breakthrough at Petersburg was the beginning of the end. More than 5,000 of his army was either killed or captured in the fighting. Among the dead was one of his best generals (Ambrose P. Hill). He was forced to pull what remained of his army out of Petersburg and retreat to the west. The very next day, the Union Army entered Petersburg and hours later, Richmond (the Confederate Capital). A week later the Union Army caught up and surrounded Lee at Appomattox Court House. With no hope of escaping the encirclement, General Robert E. Lee and the Confederate Army surrendered. 

For his incredible valor in leading his regiment into the trenches, Captain Charles Gould was awarded the Congressional Medal of Honor. When he returned to Vermont, he received a hero's welcome. He spent the rest of his life working to help fellow veterans and the families of those who did not return. He died on December 5, 1916. Today, Captain Gould is credited with leading the final charge that would win the American Civil War. He truly is someone to be held in high regard.

https://emergingcivilwar.com/2015/04/02/breakthrough-at-petersburg-first-man-over-the-works/

https://pamplinpark.org/the-common-soldier/

https://www.thisiswhywestand.net/single-post/2017/08/15/blood-and-fury-americas-civil-war-captain-charles-gould-at-the-battle-of-petersburg

Hero of the Week 108

 Welcome back viewers

This week's hero is...

Elfego Baca

Elfego Baca was born on February 10, 1865, in the town of Socorro,  New Mexico Territory. He grew up in Topeka, Kansas before returning to New Mexico in 1880 after the unexpected passing of his mother. He was inspired by his father to become a lawman. Four years later, Baca was appointed deputy sheriff of Socorro Country, New Mexico. Little did he know, that bringing law and order to the state was going to test him beyond all limits.

In October of 1884, Elfego Baca spotted a local cowboy who was wanted for public drunkenness. When he approached to take the man (Charlie McCarty) into custody, the latter refused to comply and grabbed one of Baca's guns from it's holster. When Baca drew his second gun, a couple of other cowboys (who were McCarty's companions) drew their guns on him. Baca was forced to retreat. When one of the assailants attempted to pursue him, Baca shot his attackers horse causing it to fatally throw its rider.

After a judge dismissed the charges against Charlie McCarty, he ordered a local rancher named Bert Hearne to round up a posse, apprehend Baca, and bring him in for questioning about the gunfight. However, Hearne (who was a racist) had no intention of taking Baca alive and resolved to make an example of him. Hearne told his posse that Elfego Baca was leading a Mexican uprising in New Mexico and that he was better off dead. 

Hearne and his posse rode into the small town of Frisco and cornered Elfego Baca in the local jail. When Baca refused to come out with his hands up, the posse opened fire. Baca returned fire and killed Hearne with a gunshot to the torso. The rest of the group continued to pour fire into the prison. Baca continued to return fire. With his superior marksmanship, he successfully killed three more of his attackers and wounded eight.

In order to end the bloodshed, a newly appointed deputy from Socorro approached the prison and convinced Baca to surrender. At his trial for the murder of Bert Hearne, Baca's defense attorneys entered into evidence the doors and walls of the prison where the latter at taken cover. During the shootout, more than 400 bullets were counted in the door alone. After being shown how determined the posse was to kill Baca, the jury voted for acquittal. 

After being released, Elfego Baca resumed his career as a lawmen and rose to the rank of Sheriff of Socorro County. He quickly established a reputation of convincing outlaws to come quietly without resisting. Due to his fame after the Frisco Shootout, most outlaws chose not to test him. For the rest of his life, he worked as a marshal, a lawyer, a school superintendent, and a district attorney. He died on August, 27, 1945. Today he is remembered as one of New Mexico's most revered and influential lawmen.

https://www.legendsofamerica.com/we-elfegobaca/

https://www.elpasotimes.com/story/life/2016/11/01/nine-lives-elfego-baca/92907392/

https://truewestmagazine.com/legend-elfego-baca/

Hero of the Week 107

 Welcome back viewers!

This week's hero is...

Elizabeth Van Lew

Elizabeth Van Lew was born on October 12, 1818, in Richmond, Virginia. When she was a child, she was sent to a Quaker school in Philadelphia. This had the unintended consequence of causing her to reform her views on life. One of the things that changed forever, was her view on slavery. 

Although she had come from a slave-holding family, Elizabeth became an anti-slavery advocate as soon as she returned to Virginia. When her father died in 1843, she made the decision to free their family's slaves. However, her fight against slavery did not end there. When the Virginia seceded from the Union and Civil War began in 1860, Elizabeth Van Lew decided that her loyalties would lie with the Union.

During the war, an old tobacco factory was used as a prisoner-of-war camp in the city of Richmond. It was meant to incarcerate Union officers who were captured during battle. It was called, Libby Prison. Due to the Confederacy's limited amount of supplies conditions inside the prison were quite deplorable for anyone unlucky enough to be taken there. Many of the prisoners began to die within weeks of their arrival.

Elizabeth decided to aid the prisoners in any way that she could. She persuaded the Confederate warden of the prison camp to allow her to bring food and medicine to the prisoners. By doing this, she incurred much anger and disgust from many of her neighbors who were ardent supporters of slavery and secession. It was not long that she began receiving numerous death threats wherever she went in Richmond. Despite her unpopularity, Elizabeth not only continued to help the Union POWs, she also participated in espionage against the Confederacy.

She organized a spy network of 12 people (including former slaves). They began their activities by smuggling letters from the prisoners out of Libby Prison to their families. As the war progressed, they began reporting on Confederate troop movements through Virginia. She was able to smuggle her dispatches to Union lines by using a colorless liquid to conceal the words and numbers on the paper. She would then use a courier to carry them to the nearest Union outpost. The words could be uncovered when milk was poured over them. By December of 1863, her network began the high risk operation of aiding the escape of POWs from Libby Prison. Her information would play a decisive role in one of the most famous prison escapes in American history. 

In February of 1864, Elizabeth Van Lew received word that the POWs in Libby Prison were planning a mass breakout. She aided them by smuggling them maps of the area that showed how to avoid Confederate outposts. The breakout began on the night of February 14, when 108 prisoners escaped through an underground tunnel that they had dug. Due to the information that they had been given, approximately 58 successfully evaded recapture and made it to Union lines (48 were recaptured and 2 drowned while crossing the Potomac River). 

For the rest of the war, Elizabeth Van Lew's spy network continued to aide the Union armies. One member of her network (a former slave named, Mary Bowser) proved to be invaluable. She was able to disguise herself as one of Confederate President Jefferson Davis's slaves and sneak into his home. Once there she stole numerous of documents from his desk. These documents were then delivered to directly to Union General Ulysses S. Grant during his Overland Campaign in 1864. They would have a direct impact in his eventual victory over Robert E. Lee a year later.

When the Civil War ended, Elizabeth Van Lew's network officially disbanded. However, General Grant never forgot her incredible contribution to the Union war effort. When he was elected President in 1869, Grant appointed Elizabeth to the position of postmistress of Richmond (a position she held for eight years). Despite being lauded as a hero by the Federal government, she was treated as an outcast by the people of Virginia (especially in Richmond). Many of them viewed her as a traitor to the Confederate cause and treated with contempt for the rest of her life. When she died on September 25, 1900, hardly anyone in Virginia (except for her family) mourned her.

Today however, Elizabeth Van Lew is remembered as an American hero. In 1993, she was posthumously inducted into the Military Intelligence Hall of Fame. Her headstone reads, "She risked everything that is dear to man–friends, fortune, comfort, health, life itself, all for the one absorbing desire in her heart–that slavery might be abolished and the Union preserved". No words could better describe, Elizabeth Van Lew.

https://www.battlefields.org/learn/biographies/elizabeth-van-lew

https://www.smithsonianmag.com/history/elizabeth-van-lew-an-unlikely-union-spy-158755584/

https://ehistory.osu.edu/articles/elizabeth-van-lew-crazy-bet-brings-down-richmond

Iconic Image 6

 Welcome back viewers

This month's Iconic Image is...

The Kent State shooting

Intro

This image depicts a teenage girl kneeling over the body of a teenage boy while screaming in terror. Behind her foot, is a long blood trail that is staining the street. Other students are standing by in shock and disbelief over what has just happened. This photograph would become a haunting image of one of America's greatest tragedies.

Part I

The day of May 4, 1970, was a day that began like any other for the students and teachers of Kent State University. Things took a different turn at noon when thousands students and activists gathered on the university's Commons just out side the Taylor Hall building. They were anti-war activists protesting the American involvement in the Vietnam War. President Nixon had recently announced that he had ordered an Incursion into the country of Cambodia (which bordered Vietnam). This announcement caused nation-wide protests against the widening of a war that had already become very unpopular.

The college of Kent State was no exception. The number of protesters gathering at the college alarmed Ohio Governor Jim Rhoades, who ordered the deployment of the Ohio National Guard to Kent State. Fearing that a riot was about to take place, university officials attempted to ban the gathering. Despite their best efforts, more than 2,000 people gathered at the Commons to demonstrate. The protest officially began with students ringing the college's Victory Bell. The National guardsmen arrived just minutes later and ordered the protesters to disperse. When they refused, the guardsmen fixed bayonets and began advancing. When the protesters threw rocks at them, they returned fire with tear gas. For the next 20 minutes the guardsmen tried to disperse the protesters. Although some of the latter left, most stood their ground.

At 12:24 PM, a group of guardsmen suddenly wheeled around on a hill overlooking the crowd and fired. For the next 13 seconds, they fired a total of 67 live rounds of ammunition into the protesters. Due to their elevation on the hill, many of the bullets passed over the heads of the protesters and hit those in the back of the crowd. When the shooting was over, three students lay dead on the ground. A fourth would die in the hospital. Another nine were severely wounded (one would be paralyzed for the rest of his life). Only after the shooting, did the protesters finally disperse while some stayed behind to tend to the wounded.

Part II

Among the protesters was a senior majoring in photography named, John Filo. Filo had been working for Kent State University's newspaper and decided to photograph the incident. After taking numerous images of the protest, Filo was forced to dive for cover when the shooting began. When it had stopped, Filo looked up and saw a young girl kneeling over another student. The girl was screaming for someone to help the young man. Since Filo only had enough film left for one more picture, he snapped a quick image of the spectacle before quickly leaving the scene (he feared his camera would be confiscated by the police). 

The girl in the picture was identified as Mary Ann Vecchio. She was a 14 year old runaway from Florida who had hitchhiked her way to Kent, Ohio. She had arrived at the college campus to take part in the anti-war protest. Before the shooting started, Mary had met a student named, Jeffrey Glenn Miller. Jeff was a recent transfer student from Michigan. 

He was friends with two other students on the campus (Allison Krause and Sandra Scheuer). Mary and Jeff were having a conversation when the National Guard suddenly opened fire on them. Jeff was shot through his mouth and died instantly. His two friends, Allison and Sandra were also killed. The fourth victim was a psychology student named, William Knox Schroeder. Tragically of the four victims, two of them (Sandra and William) were not taking part in the protest. They were simply walking to class when they were caught in the crossfire.

Epilogue

John Filo's image of the massacre ultimately became the most famous of the day. His photograph won him the Pulitzer Prize in 1971. He continues to work as a successful photographer to this day. The shooting at Kent State sent waves of anger across the United States and turned many more Americans against the war. Despite the carnage that had been caused, no member of the Ohio National Guard was ever charged for the shooting. Why the guardsmen opened fire has never been determined.

Although the photograph had made Mary Ann Vecchio very famous, she very much resented all the attention that was given to her. In fact, it ended up getting her arrested and sent to juvenile detention since she was a runaway. After a couple run-ins with the law, she eventually married and worked at a casino. Despite all the trouble it had caused her, Mary Ann harbored no resentment towards John Filo. The met in 1995 and remain good friends to this day. She is now retired and lives in Florida. 

This photograph remains a symbol of a great tragedy in American history. It tells a story of a loss of innocence and of life. But it also shows the power that the voices of students can have when they wish to be heard. The anti-war protesters only grew larger and stronger after the shootings at Kent State. Ultimately, they succeeded in convincing President Nixon to withdraw American servicemen from Vietnam.

https://www.kent.edu/may-4-historical-accuracy

https://www.history.com/topics/vietnam-war/kent-state-shooting

https://www.washingtonpost.com/magazine/2021/04/19/girl-kent-state-photo-lifelong-burden-being-national-symbol/

Hero of the Week 106

 Welcome back viewers

This week's hero is...

Alice Coachman 

Alice Coachman was born on November 9, 1923. She was the fifth of ten children raised in the city of Albany, Georgia. Despite growing up facing severe racism and sexism, Alice was determined to break barriers. Whenever she wasn't at school, she trained herself by running barefoot on dirt roads and jumping over raised obstacles. After receiving some encouragement from her aunt and a teacher, Alice joined her high school's track team in 1938. She quickly excelled at the sport of high jumping.

After she graduated high school, Alice attended Albany State University. She graduated from college with a degree in dressmaking and home economics. During this time, she continued to compete in the sport of track and field for her college. By the time she graduated from Albany, Alice had already won numerous races for the Amateur Athletic Union (AAU) national championships. Her growing skills at the High Jump event eventually caught the eyes of the American Olympic Team. 

Although the Summer Olympics for 1940 and 1944 had been canceled due to World War II, Coachman successfully tried out for the 1948 Olympics in London (despite suffering a back injury). On August 7, she found herself on the race track competing in the High Jump event. On her very first attempt, Alice leapt 1.68 meters (5 ft 6 in) into the air (an Olympic Record). Although Dorothy Tyler (of the United Kingdom) was able to match her jump, she did so on her second try. 

Since none of her opponents were able to overtake her score, Alice was declared the winner of the gold medal. Dorothy Tyler of the UK took the silver and Micheline Ostermeyer of France took the bronze. The crowd watched in awe as King George VI walked out to the podium on the track and presented the gold medal to a woman of color. For a brief moment, the eyes of the world were all on Alice Coachman. She was the first African-American woman to win a gold medal at the Olympics and the only American woman for that year.

Due to the back injury she had suffered, Alice Coachman's career came to an end when she was only 24. She spent the rest of her life working in education. In 1979, she was inducted into the Georgia Sports Hall of Fame. In 2004, she was inducted into the United States Olympic Hall of Fame. She passed away on July 14, 2014, at the age of 90. Today, Alice Coachman is remembered as a woman who faced challenges head on and broke barriers. She serves as a major inspiration for thousands of black athletes around the world. Her story is definitely one that deserves to be remembered.

http://amsterdamnews.com/news/2021/may/27/sports-historian-explores-how-racism-impacted-fema/

https://kiss951.com/2021/02/15/black-history-month-heroes-you-should-know-alice-coachman/

https://www.cbssports.com/general/news/cbs-sports-honors-alice-coachman-with-animated-vignette-for-black-history-month/

https://www.ajc.com/sports/high-school-sports-blog/for-a-generation-black-georgia-women-dominated-womens-track-and-field/6NZRB3PAO5GZHMZIZO3DQFN5N4/

https://www.georgiaencyclopedia.org/articles/sports-outdoor-recreation/alice-coachman-1923-2014

Hero of the Week 105

Welcome back viewers

This week's hero is...

Raymond Harvey

Raymond "Ray" Harvey was born on March 1, 1920. A native of the Chickasaw tribe, Harvey grew up in the city of Sulphur, Oklahoma. After graduating high school in 1939, he enlisted in the US Army. During World War II, he saw combat in the Invasion of Normandy and the Battle of the Bulge. He was decorated numerous times for incredible courage in valor. 

By the end of the war, he had received the Distinguished Service Cross (second-highest award for valor), two silver stars, two bronze stars, and two purple hearts. Despite being offered an honorable discharge for his service, Harvey chose to return to active duty in 1948. Little did he know that just two years later, he would answer another call to duty. 

In June of 1950, war broke out on the Korean peninsula between the Communist North and the Republic of South Korea. Harvey (now a captain) was serving with the American 7th Infantry Division at the time. During the first year of the conflict, he saw combat at the Landing at Inchon (where he received his third Silver Star). However, his experience and leadership would be put to the ultimate test on March 9, 1951.

That day, Captain Harvey was leading Company C of the 17th Infantry Regiment to launch an attack on enemy fortifications near the Korean village of, Taemi-Dong. The North Korean and Chinese forces held the high ground on a hill (Hill 1232) overlooking the village and had been using it to snipe and launch assaults on strategic positions along the 38th Parallel. Although Ray and his company expected to face heavy resistance what they encountered caught them completely off guard. As soon as they approached the hill, hidden enemy machine-guns opened fire. 

At least half the company was cut down in the initial burst of enemy fire. The rest found themselves pinned down by the murderous fire. Unwilling to watch his men die, Captain Harvey launched a one-man attack. He ran to the nearest enemy machine gun and threw two grenades which killed the crew. He then ran through a gauntlet of enemy fire to the next fortification and killed it's occupants with rifle fire. As he charged a third enemy position a bullet struck him directly in the chest, puncturing his lung. Despite nearly choking on his own blood, Harvey crawled under the enemy fire and eventually reached the third position and killed all five enemy soldiers with his rifle.

Captain Harvey's one-manned attack had successfully broken through the first line of the North Korean defense on Hill 1232. After knocking out the third enemy position, his company was able to join him up on the hill and press the attack. Despite losing almost half his blood volume and being unable to move, Captain Ray Harvey refused to be evacuated until Hill 1232 had been captured. 

For his incredible courage and valor on March 9, Captain Raymond Harvey received the Congressional Medal of Honor and his third Purple Heart from President Harry Truman. He was the first and remains the only Chickasaw Native American to receive the medal in American history. He officially retired from the US Army in 1962. He spent much of his later life as a military technical advisor to war movies like Fixed Bayonets and The Big Red One. He died on November 16, 1996, and was buried in Arlington National Cemetery. He is remembered today, as one of America's finest soldiers.

https://hof.chickasaw.net/Members/2017/Raymond-Harvey.aspx

https://www.oklahoman.com/article/3356699/story-of-chickasaw-hero-lt-col-raymond-harvey-emerges-into-spotlight

https://www.cmohs.org/recipients/raymond-harvey

Iconic Image 5

 Welcome back viewers

This month's Iconic Image is...

The Saigon Execution

Intro:

This photograph depicts a violent execution of an unarmed Vietnamese man by a South Vietnamese officer. It was snapped a fraction of a second after the gun had been fired. This image would cause international outrage and come to symbolize the brutality of the Vietnam War. It would also call into question, how photographs should be treated and whether they tell the whole truth of what they depict.

Part I

In late January of 1968, the communist Viet Cong and North Vietnamese Army launched a series of coordinated attacks on dozens of South Vietnamese cities and American fortifications. These attacks were launched during the Vietnamese holiday known as, Tet. Therefore, these series of attacks on South Vietnam would be forever known as, the Tet Offensive. Despite catching the Americans and South Vietnamese by surprise, the vast majority of the attacks were quelled within 24 hours (the exception was the ancient city of Hue which took about a month). 

Among the American and South Vietnamese servicemen, were thousands of journalists and photographers who documented the Tet Offensive. One of them was, Eddie Adams of the Associated Press. During the Offensive, Adams was located in the backstreets of the South Vietnamese capital, Saigon. He noticed a small group of armed soldiers pushing a handcuffed man who was wearing plainclothes. Suspecting that something was about to happen, Adams followed the group to the edge of the street. As the group seemed to spread out, the prisoner stood still in the middle of the road. All of a sudden, one of the soldiers (who was clearly an officer) went for his sidearm (a Smith and Wesson Bodyguard revolver) and put it to the prisoner's head.

Adams quickly raised his camera and snapped a photograph as the gun went off. The prisoner's knees immediately buckled as a he collapsed to the ground (blood gushing from his head). Some of the soldiers spat and kicked his body while others recoiled in shock. The officer then put his sidearm back in it's holster and simply walked away as if his business was finished.

Part II

A total of three individuals are depicted in the photograph. They are the prisoner, the officer (who would later become a general), and a foot soldier to the officer's left. The foot soldier has never been identified. However, both the prisoner and the officer's identities are known.

The officer's name was, Nguyên Ngoc Loan. At the time, Loan was in command of the South Vietnamese National Police. When asked about the incident and how it would make him look, Loan responded with indifference. Immediately after the execution, Loan looked at Eddie Adams and said, "They killed so many of my people and of yours. I think Buddha will forgive me". Three months after the execution, Loan was interviewed by anti-war activist, Oriana Fallaci. When she asked him about it, Loan responded, "He wasn't wearing a uniform and I can't respect a man who shoots without wearing a uniform. Because it's too easy: you kill and you're not recognized. I respect a North Vietnamese soldier because he's a soldier, like myself, and so he takes the same risks that I do. But a Viet Cong in civilian clothes - I was filled with rage". 

The prisoner in Adam's photograph has also been identified. His name was Nguyên Van Lém. As General Loan had noted, Lém was indeed a captain in the Viet Cong army and an ardent communist. During the Tet Offensive, Lém had taken a small group of Viet Cong guerrillas into Saigon while disguised as civilians on a pilgrimage. The group then made their way to the homes of South Vietnamese soldiers and policemen who were on leave for the Tet ceasefire. They proceeded to massacre dozens of servicemen and their families in their own houses. By the time his unit was dispatched by American and South Vietnamese soldiers, at least 200 people were dead.

Among the dead from Lém's attack was a close friend of Colonel Loan's. Lieutenant-Colonel Nguyên Tuan, his wife, six of his children, and his mother had all been brutally murdered while they were eating dinner together. Tuan's nine-year-old son, Huan Nguyên (who later joined the American Navy) was the only survivor. 

Eddie Adams took a few more pictures before returning to the Associated Press's headquarters in Saigon. Adams later said that after dropping off his photographs, he went to lunch and, "...didn't think anything of it". It was war. That's how I felt. I had seen so many people die at that point in my life". He never could have predicted how this one image would forever change the public perception of war and the role of the Press in exposing it's brutality.

Epilogue:

When it was released, it sent waves of shock and outrage across the United States. The brutal summery execution of Nguyên Lem turned many American people against the war. It showed a severe dark side to the Vietnam War that many people had not seen before and did not wish to see again. 

After the Fall of Saigon in 1975, General Nguyên Loan fled with his family to the United States of America where he was granted asylum. In 1978, the House of Representatives had General Loan investigated for the summery execution of Captain Lém in 1968. The Library of Congress concluded that Loan had violated South Vietnamese law when he had conducted the summery execution in Saigon. Attempts to deport him back to Vietnam (where he would have likely been executed) were blocked by President Jimmy Carter. General Loan spent the rest of his life running a pizza parlor (while continually receiving death threats from anti-war activists) in the state of Virginia. He died on July 14, 1998, at the age of 67. Despite all the trouble it caused him, Loan never blamed Adams for taking the picture.

Eddie Adam's photograph ultimately received the Pulitzer Prize. However, when he learned of all the damage it had done to General Loan's reputation, Adams stated that he wished he had never taken it. After Loan's death in 1998, Adams wrote a statement to the Time magazine. It read, two people died in that photograph: the recipient of the bullet and General Nguyen Ngoc Loan. The general killed the Viet Cong; I killed the general with my camera. Still photographs are the most powerful weapons in the world. People believe them; but photographs can lie, even without manipulation. They are only half-truths. What the photograph didn't say was, "What would you do if you were the general at that time and place on that hot day, and you caught the so-called bad guy after he blew away one, two or three American people?" Adams himself passed away on September 19, 2004. 

The Saigon Execution remains one of the most iconic yet infamous images ever taken of the Vietnam War. It showed both the agony of war and the ugly truth about what war is. However, the image is also infamous because of what it failed to say. Today, many people look at this image with sympathy for General Loan. While his actions that day can be considered unprofessional (and illegal) for a man in his position, they can also be seen as a human reaction (one of both grief and anger at losing a friend to a violent attack). This image has a message that can be interpreted in many different ways. Ultimately though, it is up to the viewers to decide what it really means.

http://100photos.time.com/photos/eddie-adams-saigon-execution

https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/retropolis/wp/2018/02/01/a-grisly-photo-of-a-saigon-execution-50-years-ago-shocked-the-world-and-helped-end-the-war/

https://medium.com/history-through-the-lens/the-saigon-execution-da8f16c2366

https://www.baltimoresun.com/news/bs-xpm-1998-07-17-1998198007-story.html

https://people.com/archive/unforgettable-vol-53-no-17/