Meeting the family of the ‘girl in the picture’
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- November
- 19
After visiting Cu Chi on Veterans Day, my father and I stopped for an unforgettable lunch in Trang Bang: at the roadside noodle shop owned by the family of Kim Phuc, the famous “girl in the picture” who was photographed fleeing, screaming, naked down the road after a napalm attack in 1972. The humble shop is next to the town’s colorful Cao Dai temple, but aside from that and the photos of Kim – then and now – on the wall, we never would have found it without our tour guide.
During our meal, we met Kim’s adorable 3-year-old great-nephew, Dang Khoi Ho. He was shy at first, but warmed up after my father gave him three of my chocolate chip granola bars. (I didn’t need them that day anyway – the soup was delicious!)
And here, with my father—quite a change from the photo this family is most famous for:
4 Responses to “Meeting the family of the ‘girl in the picture’”
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I’m very happy you actually got to talk to Kim Phuc. I met her at a conference in Berlin once and she is incredibly charismatic. Have you ever checked out a photo essay by Perry Kretz, a Stern magazine photographer who was able to fly her to Germany and get medical treatment there? The pictures and the story is breath-taking. Keep up the wonderful work!
Lam
Thank you very much Nicole for this series and for including Operation Babylift” and Bernie Duff’s painting of my husband, my first child and me via “Heather’s Homecoming Day.”
I invite all readers to visit my website at:
http://www.Vietnambabylift.org
for details and resources related to “Operation Babylift”, Vietnam, April, 1975.
I believe Babylift was one of the most important humanitarian events of the 20th Century.
It changed the “complexion” of the United States and ushered in the wave of international adoption prevalent in the US today.
Best regards,
Lana Noone
http://www.Vietnambabylift.org
Lana@Vietnambabylift.org
[...] A veteran, his daughter, their journey « Meeting the family of the ‘girl in the picture’ [...]
Clarification: We didn’t meet Kim Phuc, who now lives in Canada; we met some of her relatives, who still live in Trang Bang. But, maybe she’ll see this blog and get in touch!