The Execution of Nguyen Van Lem

[Bootie]

The Execution of Nguyen Van Lem

On the 1st February 1968 at the height of the Tet Offensive in the Vietnam War an image was taken of a soldier shooting what looks like a scared Vietnamese civilian in the head from point blank ran…

theviewfromtheturret.blog

 

[Rico]

Good post -- the back story to this image is mostly forgotten and the pic became iconic for possibly wrong reasons -- perhaps representing the senseless brutality of the conflict.

 

[ChuckDyke]

I was in Vietnam three years ago and it was an eyeopener. Often members of the same family served in the South Vietnamese Army and the Vietcong. Nothing was black and white there.

 

[Stafford]

Talk about history repeating itself, there are some eery similarities between that picture and the spark that set off the BLM riots last year.
Was the guy who died innocent? No.
Did he deserve to die like that? No.
Did way too many people make an emotional judgement without being aware of all the facts and turn the victim into a martyr undeservedly? Absolutely yes.

 

[ChuckDyke]

You can make all of the rules of engagements you like. The people on the ground have the last word.

 

[Lethaface]

Talk about history repeating itself, there are some eery similarities between that picture and the spark that set off the BLM riots last year.
Was the guy who died innocent? No.
Did he deserve to die like that? No.
Did way too many people make an emotional judgement without being aware of all the facts and turn the victim into a martyr undeservedly? Absolutely yes.

Well, I have more respect for the General summarily executing a known member of a 'butcher squad' during an actual war, compared to a police officer who sits on someones neck for so long that he's bound to die, even if he was guilty of paying with fake money. Actually, 10000x more respect for that general because that police officer get none from me.