Suspected Viet Cong officer Nguyen Van Lem being escorted by South Vietnamese soldiers, just moments before his infamous execution, which was caught on camera. Saigon during the Tet Offensive, February 1968. [2010×1400]

    by Iron_Cavalry

    5 Comments

    1. Moments after this photo was taken, ARVN captain Nguyễn Ngọc Loan summarily executed Van Lem with a revolver, a moment which was captured by American journalist Eddie Adams on camera.

      [https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/8/8c/Saigon_Execution.jpg](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/8/8c/Saigon_Execution.jpg)

      The scene was photographed the moment the exact the bullet struck Van Lem. The graphic scene was also captured on color film:

      [https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/transcoded/8/80/Execution_of_Nguy%E1%BB%85n_V%C4%83n_L%C3%A9m_film.webm/Execution_of_Nguy%E1%BB%85n_V%C4%83n_L%C3%A9m_film.webm.480p.vp9.webm](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/transcoded/8/80/Execution_of_Nguy%E1%BB%85n_V%C4%83n_L%C3%A9m_film.webm/Execution_of_Nguy%E1%BB%85n_V%C4%83n_L%C3%A9m_film.webm.480p.vp9.webm)

      The photo became infamous after extensive publication in American press, fueling the powerful antiwar movement that had rapidly gained ground after the Tet Offensive.

    2. Don’t forget to include the fact that he was caught after he went to a South Vietnamese military officer’s house and murdered him and his family

    3. Michael Here wrote a brilliant book called ‘Dispatches’. He was there during the Tet Offensive as well as the battle of Heue (sp?)

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