Phan Thị Kim Phúc

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In this Vietnamese name, the family name is Phan. According to Vietnamese custom, this person should properly be referred to by the given name Phúc.

8 June 1972: Kim Phúc, center left, running down a road near Trang Bang after a South Vietnamese Air Force napalm attack.

Phan Thị Kim Phúc (born 1963) is a Vietnamese-Canadian who is the subject of a famous photo from the Vietnam War. The photo shows her at about age nine running naked on the street after being severely burned on her back by a South Vietnamese napalm attack. The photo was taken by AP photographer Nick Út.

[edit] "Vietnam Napalm"—a photograph by Nick Út

Kim Phúc and her family were residents of 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 had been attacked and occupied by North Vietnamese forces. Phúc joined a group of civilians and South Vietnamese soldiers who were fleeing from the Cao Dai Temple to the safety of South Vietnamese held positions. A South Vietnamese Air Force pilot mistook the group for enemy soldiers and diverted to attack. The bombing killed two of Phúc's cousins and two other villagers. Associated Press photographer Nick Út earned a Pulitzer Prize for his photograph of the aftermath. It also was chosen the World Press Photo of the Year for 1972. The image of Phúc running naked amidst the chaos became one of the most haunting images of the Vietnam War. In an interview many years later, she recalled she was yelling "Nong qua, nong qua" ("too hot, too hot") in the picture.

After snapping the photograph, Út took Kim Phúc and the other injured children to a hospital in Saigon, where it was determined her burns were so severe that she probably would not survive. After a 14-month hospital stay and 17 surgical procedures, however, she was able to return home. Út continued to visit her until he was evacuated during the fall of Saigon, three years later.^[1]

Audio tapes of then-president Richard Nixon, in conversation with his chief of staff, H. R. Haldeman, reveal that Nixon doubted the authenticity of the photograph, thinking it might have been "fixed."^[2] Following the release of this tape, Út commented:

"Even though it has become one of the most memorable images of the twentieth century, President Nixon once doubted the authenticity of my photograph when he saw it in the papers on 12 June 1972.... The picture for me and unquestionably for many others could not have been more real. The photo was as authentic as the Vietnam war itself. The horror of the Vietnam war recorded by me did not have to be fixed. That terrified little girl is still alive today and has become an eloquent testimony to the authenticity of that photo. That moment thirty years ago will be one Kim Phúc and I will never forget. It has ultimately changed both our lives".^[3]

Less publicized is film shot by photojournalists Alan Downes (ITN), and Le Phuc Dinh (NBC) which shows the events just before and after the photograph was taken.^[4][5][6][7] Sections of the film shot of the incident were included in Hearts and Minds, the 1974 Academy Award-winning documentary about the Vietnam War directed by Peter Davis.^[8]

Roadside area near the site of the napalm attack.

[edit] Adult life

As a young adult, Phúc was removed from her university and used as an anti-war symbol by the communist government of Vietnam. In 1986, however, she was granted permission to continue her studies in Cuba. She had converted from her family's Cao Dai religion to Christianity four years earlier.^[9] Phạm Văn Đồng, the then-Prime Minister of Vietnam, became her friend and patron.

Phúc travelled to Cuba, where she met Bui Huy Toan, another Vietnamese student. In 1989, Nick Út went to Cuba to meet her and her fiancé. In 1992, Phúc and Toan married and went on their honeymoon. During a refuelling stop in Gander, Newfoundland, they left the plane and asked for political asylum in Canada. It was granted. They now live in Ajax, Ontario, and have two children.

In 1996, Phúc met the surgeons who had saved her life. The following year, she passed the Canadian Citizenship Test with a perfect score, and became a Canadian citizen.^[10]

On June 30, 2008, National Public Radio broadcast her spoken essay, "The Long Road to Forgiveness", for the "This I Believe" series.^[9]

[edit] Vietnam Memorial speech

In 1996, Phúc gave a speech at the United States Vietnam Veterans Memorial on Veterans Day. In her speech she said we cannot change the past, but we can all work for a peaceful future. Rev. John Plummer, a Vietnam War veteran, had seen the photo and believed he took part in co-ordinating the air strike with the South Vietnamese Air Force. He met Phúc briefly and she publicly forgave him. A Canadian filmmaker, Shelley Saywell, made a documentary about their meeting.

[edit] Recognition

On November 10, 1997, Kim Phúc was named a UNESCO Goodwill Ambassador.

Her biography, The Girl in the Picture: the Story of the Story of Kim Phúc, the Photograph and the Vietnam War, was written by Denise Chong and published in 1999.

In 2003, Belgian composer Eric Geurts wrote "The Girl in the Picture", dedicated to Kim Phúc. Released on Flying Snowman Records, all profits go to the Kim Foundation.

On October 22, 2004, Phúc was awarded an honorary Doctorate of Laws from York University in Toronto, Ontario for her work to support child victims of war around the world. She was awarded the Order of Ontario. On October 27, 2005, she was awarded an honorary degree in Law from Queen's University in Kingston, Ontario.^[11]

[edit] See also

• Military song "Napalm Sticks to Kids"

[edit] References

• Sommer, Mark. (April 3, 2000). "The Girl in the Picture". Buffalo News (New York), p. 6B.

[edit] External links

• UNESCO Kim Phúc Phan Thi
• Detailed series of articles.
• Kim Foundation International
• CBS News 2000
• Her Current Photo as of 2003