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kun ing-ani lang intawon unta ang nahitabo nga giitsahan lang siya ug coca-cola. 

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Saigon Execution
The real story behind Eddie Adams’ iconic Vietnam War photo.

(excerpts from an article written by Jason Zasky)

“Saigon Execution” is one of the most recognizable photographs in military history, and it played a contributing role in turning public opinion against the Vietnam War. The image—by combat photographer Eddie Adams—captures the moment a uniformed South Vietnamese officer fires a bullet into the head of a man who appears to be a civilian.

http://failuremag.com/

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(1930-1998)



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The image became an anti-war icon. Concerning Loan and his famous photograph, Adams wrote in Time:

“The general killed the Viet Cong; I killed the general with my camera. Still photographs are the most powerful weapon in the world. People believe them, but photographs do 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 soldiers?"

wiki/



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The man who was shot was Bay Lop, who had beheaded people, been caught in the act of gunning down policemen, and killed the family of one of General Loan’s friends.  That doesn’t necessarily justify what Loan did.  But when stripped of context, it looked like someone from the South Vietnamese national police gunning down some helpless guy, and that was not the case.  Bay Lop was the leader of a sophisticated assassination team that was attempting to knock off all the top leaders [of South Vietnam], and General Loan was on their list.

http://failuremag.com/

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South Vietnamese sources attested that Lém commanded a Việt Cá»™ng death squad, which on that day had murdered South Vietnamese National Police officers, or in their stead, the police officers' families; these sources said that Lém was captured near the site of a ditch holding as many as thirty-four bound and shot bodies of police and their relatives, some of whom were the families of Loan's deputy, and six of whom were Nguyá»…n's godchildren.  Lém's widow confirmed that her husband was a member of the Việt Cá»™ng and that she did not see him after the Tet Offensive began.  Shortly after the execution, a South Vietnamese official who had not been present said that Lém was only a political operative.

wiki/

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What effect did the photo’s fame have on General Loan?

It became an opportunity for his political enemies to go after him.  But he was wounded in action a few months later, and that’s when he was removed from his job.  His leg was shot up to the point where it was later amputated, and he couldn’t do his job anymore.



Later, when he came to the United States, the Immigration and Nationalization Service (INS) wanted to deport him on the grounds of moral turpitude based on the photo.  But Eddie Adams came to his defense.  When the INS asked him to testify against Loan, he said: No, I’ll testify for him.  He got to know General Loan after Tet and found he wasn’t a bad guy; he was just in a bad situation.  So Loan was not deported and he lived in northern Virginia until 1998, when he passed away.

http://failuremag.com/

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Eulogy

I won a Pulitzer Prize in 1969 for a photograph of one man shooting another … The general killed the Viet Cong; I killed the general with my camera.  Still photographs are the most powerful weapon in the world.  People believe them, but photographs do 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 soldiers?"  General Loan was what you would call a real warrior, admired by his troops.  I'm not saying what he did was right, but you have to put yourself in his position.

…This picture really messed up his life.  He never blamed me.  He told me if I hadn't taken the picture, someone else would have, but I've felt bad for him and his family for a long time.  I had kept in contact with him; the last time we spoke was about six months ago, when he was very ill.

I sent flowers when I heard that he had died and wrote, "I'm sorry. There are tears in my eyes."

--Eddie Adams


Eddie Adams at the Vietnam conflict and during his later years:


http://super-photo.blogspot.com/

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The truth always discombobulates; lucky are they who reach that epiphany.



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