Napalm Girl

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The photograph is called “The Terror of War” by Nick Ut and it is more commonly known as “Napalm Girl”. The photograph was taken by Nick Ut on 8 June 1972 in Trng Bàng, Vietnam. The children in this photograph have been seriously injured with an American chemical weapon known as napalm, which was dropped on them. This occurred during the Vietnam War. This war was fought mainly between the Viet Cong and America. This was due to American involvement in the battle between capitalist North Vietnam and communist South Vietnam. America used firepower, bombs and technological warfare to destroy Viet Cong territory. The turning point that officially started the war was when the USA accused the North Vietnamese of firing US warships and US Congress …show more content…

Napalm produces a gel that is very thick which will attach to the skin and can burn through muscle and bone. This photo depicts Vietnamese children who have been victims of napalm. The naked child (second from the left) has ripped off all her burning clothes. The girl’s name is Phan Th Kim Phc. The girl, as well as other villagers, were hiding in a Buddhist temple to avoid the fighting taking place between the South and North Vietnamese. Behind the children are American soldiers who are part of the Vietnam Army 25th Division. This photo has been called “The Terror of War” and is also commonly known as “Napalm Girl” and is a Pulitzer Prize winning photograph. The events that occurred happened when innocent civilians were caught between North Vietnamese and South Vietnamese soldiers as the North Vietnamese were trying to take control of a village that the South Vietnamese soldiers were defending. Unfortunately, planes that were meant to drop napalm on the North Vietnamese accidently dropped it on Trng Bàng, injuring …show more content…

The photo was seen as an example of depicting the terrors that can be caused by war. At first, the photograph was seen as controversial and President Richard Nixon even doubted how authentic the photograph was. The photograph even had an impact on American soldiers, who also saw the brutality of the war and feared for their lives as the war continued. This photograph also caused many Americans to lose moral and trust in their country as they witnessed innocent children and civilians suffering from a war that many opposed. The war was opposed on moral and economic grounds. Many Americans felt that the funds spent on the Vietnam war could’ve been used on American issues such as the Great Society, which focused on aid to education, urban renewal, conservation and other issues such as fighting poverty. Songs were also written in opposition to war, which is important as songs are able to be listened to all over the world and they’re an easy and entertaining way to bring recognition to the atrocities that occurred during the war. The photograph also won an esteemed award called the Pulitzer Prize, which is an award presented by Columbia University. This shows the recognition of the war internationally as well as more people becoming aware of the atrocities of war and this increased opposition to the

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