the funny thing about that pic is that it proves a pic says a 1000 words but those words might be lying.
The picture became a rallying cry by those firmly against the war, and for too many, the police chief seemed like a monster with no self control.
What the picture doesn’t show, however, is what happened just hours before Adams snapped the shot. The police chief, Lt. Col. Nguyen Ngoc Loan, had just seen his aid and the aid’s family brutally murdered by Viet Cong.
The picture became a rallying cry by those firmly against the war, and for too many, the police chief seemed like a monster with no self control.
What the picture doesn’t show, however, is what happened just hours before Adams snapped the shot. The police chief, Lt. Col. Nguyen Ngoc Loan, had just seen his aid and the aid’s family brutally murdered by Viet Cong.
Hours before the infamous picture was taken, the prisoner, Nguyễn Văn Lém, led an insurgent team in Saigon. He captured and brutally killed one of Lt. Loan’s officers and that man’s wife, mother, and children.
Having personally witnessed the killings, Loan needed no further reason to justify the execution, but the prisoner proudly admitted to the deed anyway.
https://thefederalistpapers.org/us/revealed-true-story-behind-iconic-vietnam-war-execution-photo