Historical Context
One of the most famous images in contemporary American journalism.
The photo won Eddie Adams the 1969 Pulitzer Prize for Spot News Photography, though he was later said to have regretted its impact. The image became an anti-war icon.
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?"
Along with a film shot at the same time, the photograph helped turn the American public against the war in Vietnam.
Photo Info
Photographer: Eddie Adams
Date taken: February 1, 1968
Location taken: Saigon, Vietnam
Source: Wide World Photos
Related Events
- 1968-02-01 Saigon police chief Nguyễn Ngọc Loan executes Viet Cong officer Nguyễn Văn Lém with a pistol shot to head. The execution is captured by photographer Eddie Adams and becomes an anti-war icon.
Related Articles and Photos
Agent Orange in Vietnam
American C-123 spraying chemical defoliant, Agent Orange, on a dense Vietnamese jungle
January 12, 1962Vietnamese Monk Burns Himself Alive
Thích Quảng Đức moments after setting fire to himself in Saigon as an act of protest
June 11, 1963Vietnam War Moratorium Demonstration
Millions marched against the Vietnam War outside the White House
November 15, 1969The Fall of Saigon
South Vietnamese civilians scramble to board a CIA helicopter during the evacuation of the US embassy in Saigon
April 30, 1975
Related Famous People
President of South Vietnam
Ngô Đình Diệm