Wallace has posted a famous photograph, taken by Eddie Adams in 1968 of Gen. Nguyen Ngoc Loan as he killed a captured Viet Cong. Adams has just passed away, and Wallace offers his sense of loss.
Those of you who weren’t yet born, or who didn’t watch the news in 1968 probably don’t grasp the impact of that photograph. When I taught a lesson on Vietnam, I used some videotape of a humorous piece from the movie Full Metal Jacket to set it all up. As the cadets were laughing, the clip transitioned quickly to movie film taken at the same instant as Adams’ photo. The general quickly raised his pistol and shot, which is what Adams captured, then lowered his pistol and went about his business. The room went silent. And that was precisely the effect I wanted.
The cadets knew the story well, that this VC had just killed a family the general knew well. But that was irrelevant. The sense of shock was what Americans felt in 1968, buttressed with reports from the field by such journalistic icons as Dan Rather.
Some things never change, do they?
Maybe I am being naive and simplistic but war is not pretty. Things may occur that seem excessive, but in truth might be justified. It’s easy to sit back in a chair and comment on the going-ons and atrocities, but I haven’t had to live it. I tip my hat to you Bunker, Birdie, Slice, and Bogey and to the rest of our armed service members who fight for what they believe.
Comment by Lotus Petal — September 21, 2004 @ 12:50 am