Saigon Execution (Brigadier General Nguyen Ngoc Loan Executing the Viet Cong Guerilla Bay Lop)
Artist
Eddie Adams
(American, 1933–2004)
Artist
The Associated Press
(founded 1846)
DateFebruary 1, 1968
MediumGelatin silver print
Dimensionsimage: 16.8 × 21.9 cm (6 5/8 × 8 5/8 in.)
sheet: 18 × 25.5 cm (7 1/16 × 10 1/16 in.)
sheet: 18 × 25.5 cm (7 1/16 × 10 1/16 in.)
ClassificationsPhotographs
Credit LineGift of Howard G. Davis, III A.K.A. David Davis
Terms
Object number2011.125
Label TextWhen Bay Lop—a Viet Cong guerilla accused of murdering a South Vietnamese colonel and his family—was brought before Saigon police chief Nguyen Ngoc Loan, he was executed on the spot. “[In war] if you hesitate,” Loan declared, “if you don’t do your duty, the men won’t follow you.” The rash act may have been prompted by Adams’s presence and that of an NBC camera crew. The horrifying photograph branded Loan as savage, and turned American public sentiment against the war. Nevertheless Adams always regretted his part in the incident.
verso:
The back of this original press print reveals it as the source of many published reproductions. High-quality enlargements like this were used in newspaper and magazine production for editing, page layout, and plate making. After use, they were kept in publishing company archives. After each use, the print was stamped or inscribed on the back with the date and location of its appearance. The notations show this master print was used for "Time" magazine on February 9, 1968. It was reprinted the following month in "Life" magazine, and for several books and journals published by Time-Life, Inc.
Adams’s Pulitzer Prize-winning photograph of General Nguyen Ngọc Loan executing a Viet Cong prisoner helped turn American public opinion against the Vietnam War. Twenty years later, Marvel Comics launched the comic book series The 'Nam, written and edited by two Vietnam War veterans. For this volume, Marvel’s comic reverses the scene from the iconic photograph, focusing back on Adams as he looks through the lens of the camera, thus bringing the role of photographer to the forefront of the war.On View
Not on view
