Napalmed at Nine, Thriving at Fifty: The Incredible Story of Kim Phuc
What happened to the girl photographed in Vietnam while running, burned by napalm?
The iconic photograph of a young girl running and screaming, her skin burned by napalm, is seared into our collective memory. The girl in the photo is Kim Phuc, who was just 9 years old when her Vietnamese village was attacked. Nick Ut, the photographer who took the photo, captured the horror of the moment in a single frame. The photo turned their lives upside down, but it also helped to bring attention to the horrors of war.
Nick wasn't just about taking photos, though. He rushed in, saved Kim, and got her to
a hospital. His photo went viral before viral was a thing, and showed the world the ugly side of the Vietnam War.
Fast forward a bunch of years, and grown-up Kim gets her picture taken again, this time by Joe Mc Nally. You can see her back's still scarred up pretty bad, but she's cradling new life in her arms, kinda like a big middle finger to death.
All thanks to Nick jumping in when he did, Kim's now living a sweet life, light-years away from the childhood nightmares, scars and all.
