General Nguyen Ngoc Loan executing Viet Cong Captain Nguyen Van Lem: Eddie Adams' Pulitzer Prize-winning photograph

Eddie Adams (June 12, 1933 – September 19, 2004) was an American photographer noted for portraits of celebrities and politicians and as a photojournalist having covered 13 wars. Image File history File links Nguyen. ... Image File history File links Nguyen. ... General Nguyen Ngoc Loan General Nguyen Ngoc Loan ( December 11 1930 [1] â€“ July 14, 1998) was the Republic of Vietnams Chief of National Police. ... June 12 is the 163rd day of the year in the Gregorian calendar (164th in leap years), with 202 days remaining. ... 1933 (MCMXXXIII) was a common year starting on Sunday (link will take you to calendar). ... September 19 is the 262nd day of the year (263rd in leap years). ... 2004 (MMIV) was a leap year starting on Thursday of the Gregorian calendar. ... This is a list of notable photographers in the art, documentary and fashion traditions. ... Sports photojournalists at Indianapolis Photojournalism is a particular form of journalism (i. ...

It was while covering the Vietnam War for the Associated Press that he took his best-known photograph – the picture of police chief General Nguyen Ngoc Loan executing a Vietcong prisoner, Nguyen Van Lem, on a Saigon street, on February 1, 1968, during the opening stages of the Tet Offensive. Combatants Republic of Vietnam (South Vietnam) United States of America South Korea Thailand Australia New Zealand the Philippines Democratic Republic of Vietnam (North Vietnam) National Liberation Front (Viet Cong) Strength ~1,200,000 (1968) ~420,000 (1968) Casualties South Vietnamese dead: 230,000 South Vietnamese wounded: 300,000 US dead... Associated Press logo The Associated Press, or AP, is an American news agency, the worlds largest such organization. ... General Nguyen Ngoc Loan General Nguyen Ngoc Loan ( December 11 1930 [1] â€“ July 14, 1998) was the Republic of Vietnams Chief of National Police. ... A Viet Cong soldier, heavily guarded, awaits interrogation following capture in the attacks on Saigon during the festive Tet holiday period of 1968. ... Gen. ... Ho Chi Minh City (Vietnamese: Thành Chí Minh) is the largest city in Vietnam, located near the delta of the Mekong River. ... February 1 is the 32nd day of the year in the Gregorian Calendar. ... 1968 (MCMLXVIII) was a leap year starting on Monday (the link is to a full 1968 calendar). ... To meet Wikipedias quality standards, this article or section may require cleanup. ...

Nguyen Van Lem, a captain of a Viet Cong assassination and revenge platoon, and his men had just finished executing the wives, children and relatives of South Vietnamese police officers. Thirty-four bound and murdered civilians were found in one ditch. He was allegedly proud of having done this and boastful of his commitment to the Communists' goals and successfully completing his orders to liquidate all persons on his assignment lists. A Viet Cong soldier, heavily guarded, awaits interrogation following capture in the attacks on Saigon during the festive Tet holiday period of 1968. ... Platoon is a term from military science. ...

Adams won the 1969 Pulitzer Prize for Spot News Photography and a World Press Photo award for the photograph (captioned General Nguyen Ngoc Loan executing a Viet Cong prisoner in Saigon), but would later lament its notoriety. The gold medal awarded for Public Service in Journalism The Pulitzer Prize is an American award regarded as the highest honor in print journalism, literary achievements, and musical compositions. ... World Press Photo, founded in 1955, is an independent, non-profit organization with offices in Amsterdam, the Netherlands, and is known for organizing the worlds largest and most prestigious annual press photography contest. ... General Nguyen Ngoc Loan General Nguyen Ngoc Loan ( December 11 1930 [1] â€“ July 14, 1998) was the Republic of Vietnams Chief of National Police. ...

On Nguyen Ngoc Loan and his famous photograph, Adams wrote in Time : (Clockwise from upper left) Notable Time magazine covers from the dates May 7, 1945; July 25, 1969; December 31, 1999; September 14, 2001; and April 21, 2003. ...

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 people?'

Adams later apologized in person to General Nguyen and his family for the irreparable damage it did to Loan's honor while he was alive. When General Nguyen died, Adams praised him as a hero of a just cause.

He once said that "I would have rather been known more for the series of photographs I shot of 48 Vietnamese refugees who managed to sail to Thailand in a 30-foot boat, only to be towed back to the open seas by Thai marines." The photographs, and accompanying reports, helped persuade then President Jimmy Carter to grant the nearly 200,000 Vietnamese boat people asylum. Eddie Adams remarked" "It did some good and nobody got hurt." For the submarine, see USS Jimmy Carter (SSN-23). ... Boat people is a term (usually) referring to impoverished illegal immigrants or asylum seekers, who arrive en masse in old or crudely-made boats. ... A refugee is a person seeking asylum in a foreign country in order to escape persecution. ...

Adams died in New York City from complications of amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (Lou Gehrig's disease). Flag Seal Nickname: The Big Apple, The Capital of the World[1], Gotham Location Location in the state of New York Government Counties (Boroughs) Bronx (The Bronx) New York (Manhattan) Queens (Queens) Kings (Brooklyn) Richmond (Staten Island) Mayor Michael Bloomberg (R) Geographical characteristics Area    - City 1,214. ... Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS, sometimes called Lou Gehrigs disease, Maladie de Charcot or motor neurone disease) is a progressive, almost invariably fatal neurological disease. ... Motor neurone disease (MND) is a term used to cover a number of illnesses of the motor neurone: amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), progressive muscular atrophy (PMA), progressive bulbar palsy (PBP) and progressive lateral sclerosis (PLS). ...

External links

• Voice autobiography of execution by Photographer Eddie Admas
• Eddie Adams Photographs
• Eddie Adams obituary