Saigon Execution
Saigon Execution is a 1968 photograph by Associated Press photojournalist Eddie Adams, taken during the Tet Offensive of the Vietnam War.
It depicts South Vietnamese brigadier general Nguyễn Ngọc Loan shooting Viet Cong captain Nguyễn Văn Lém near the Ấn Quang Pagoda in Saigon. The photograph was published extensively by American news media the following day, and would go on to win Adams the 1969 Pulitzer Prize for Spot News Photography.
Nguyễn Văn Lém was a captain in the Viet Cong (VC) and was known by the code name Bảy Lốp. He and his wife Nguyễn Thị Lốp lived as undercover arms traffickers in Saigon, trading tires as a front business. At the beginning of the Tet Offensive, he was instructed to assassinate prominent figures who stood opposed to the VC, including Loan, United States army general William Westmoreland, and South Vietnamese president Nguyễn Văn Thiệu.
Nguyễn Ngọc Loan was the chief of the Republic of Vietnam National Police (RVNP), and brigadier general of the Army of the Republic of Vietnam (ARVN). He had anticipated the Tet Offensive, and was responsible for coordinating the ARVN response in Saigon – including leading the RVNP to capture the Ấn Quang Pagoda, which the VC were using as a base of operations.
Eddie Adams was an Associated Press (AP) war photographer. Having worked previously as a US Marine, he had a reputation for being fearless, taking pictures close to danger, and for often being "in the right place at the right time".
Adams was in Vietnam since 1965 to cover the war, and on February 1, 1968 he heard from the National Broadcasting Corporation (NBC) about fighting in Chợ Lớn. He met with NBC journalist Howard Tuckner, cameramen Võ Huỳnh and Võ Suu, and soundman Lê Phúc Đinh. They shared a car to Chợ Lớn to cover the conflict.
Execution
The NBC and AP crews arrived at the Ấn Quang Pagoda the same morning, and having seen nothing of interest by noon, were preparing to leave.
A cameraman for the American Broadcasting Company (ABC) was also present. Meanwhile, Lém was captured by ARVN marines while wearing civilian clothing. The marines escorted him to where the journalists happened to be. The journalists noticed this; the NBC and ABC cameramen began filming. Loan instructed a marine to kill Lém, but he was reluctant, so Loan unholstered his gun, a 38 Special Smith & Wesson Bodyguard revolver. The ABC correspondent was spooked by Loan and stopped filming.
Adams believed this was merely an intimidation tactic, but nonetheless prepared to take a photo. Loan then shot Lém. At the same time, Adams snapped the photo, capturing the moment the bullet was still inside Lém's head. Lém fell to the ground, blood spurting out of the wound. Loan then explained his actions to the journalists, citing the Americans and South Vietnamese that had died.
A marine placed a VC propaganda leaflet on Lém's face. His body was left in the street and later taken to a mass grave.
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