Kim Phuc
The Girl in the Picture
Every picture tells a story - but none like this one. A photograph of a young girl running naked down a road, her skin on fire from napalm, changed the way the world looked at the Vietnam War. The picture was transmitted around the world and eventually earned a Pulitzer Prize for the photographer, Nick Ut. The girl in the picture is Kim Phuc. Today Kim Phuc tells her story of recovery, forgiveness and courage inspiring audiences around the globe.
The Vietnam War knows many tragedies, some more familiar than others. A photograph of a young girl running naked down a road, her skin on fire with napalm, changed the way the world looked at the Vietnam War, and at all wars. The photograph was transmitted around the world and later won a Pulitzer Prize. The girl in the picture is Kim Phuc.
Phan Thi Kim Phuc was born and raised in the village of Trang Bang, 30 minutes north of Saigon. During the Vietnam War, the strategic Route 1 that runs through the village became the main supply road from Saigon to Phnom Penh. On June 8, 1972 together with American co-ordinators, the South Vietnamese Airforce dropped napalm bombs on Kim’s village. Nine-year-old Kim fled from a Cao Dai pagoda, where she and her family were hiding. Two of her infant cousins did not survive the attack, and Kim was badly burned.
Kim was photographed running down the road, screaming from the third degree burns to her skin. Nick Ut, the Associated Press photographer who was there to cover the siege, took the photograph of young Kim. Moved by her pain, he rushed her to a South Vietnamese hospital. She then spent 14 months recovering in Barsky Hospital, the American hospital in Saigon, where her care was paid for by a private foundation. Ut’s photograph of Kim remains one of the most unforgettable images of the Vietnam War.
Kim was not expected to live - the third degree burns covering half her body would require many operations and years of therapy. After two years, however, with the help of doctors who were committed to her care, she was able to return to her village and her family began to rebuild their lives.
Invited her to participate at a service in Washington, as part of a Veterans Day observance, Kim was given the opportunity to share her experience and help others heal from the pain of war. While there, she spoke face-to-face with a veteran who coordinated the air strike on her village on that day in 1972, and she forgave him.
In light of Kim’s struggle, a foundation has been established to further heal the wounds of war. The Kim Foundation is a non-profit organization committed to funding programs to heal children in war torn areas of the world. Today, Kim is a UNESCO Goodwill Ambassador for Peace and tells her story of recovery, forgiveness and courage, inspiring audiences around the globe.
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The Girl in the Picture
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October 2000The Girl in the Picture
The Girl in the Picture is Kim Phuc's story behind the iconic Vietnam War photo of her at nine years old, running and screaming in terror while she is burned by napalm and her life after the photo.
