Famous 'Napalm Girl' From Vietnam War Undergoes Treatment In U.S.

[LiberalArkie]

MIAMI (AP) — In the photograph that made Kim Phuc a living symbol of the Vietnam War, her burns aren't visible — only her agony as she runs wailing toward the camera, her arms flung away from her body, naked because she has ripped off her burning clothes.

More than 40 years later she can hide the scars beneath long sleeves, but a single tear down her otherwise radiant face betrays the pain she has endured since that errant napalm strike in 1972.

Now she has a new chance to heal — a prospect she once thought possible only in a life after death.

"So many years I thought that I have no more scars, no more pain when I'm in heaven. But now — heaven on earth for me!" Phuc says upon her arrival in Miami to see a dermatologist who specializes in laser treatments for burn patients.


Snip

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/kim-phuc-laser-treatment_562d3c31e4b0aac0b8fd39f6

[shenmue]

1. ...

[greatlaurel]

2. Thank you for the post.

Good luck to Kim with these new laser treatments ease her pain and suffering.

[malaise]

3. Saw this on BBC a short while ago

The things we've done in the so called name of freedom and democracy should frighten all of us

[ronnie624]

11. US media

repeatedly refer to the attack on Trang Bang as "accidental" and "misdirected". As if the US war crimes committed against the peoples of Indochina, were the result of a terrible "accident", instead of a deliberately calculated policy decision.

We owe many people in Asia a tremendous debt.

[malaise]

43. Asia???

That's just a part of this mess. Now said M$Greedia will push a 'Disneylike' pile of crap.

We in the West are so good at condemning the use of chemical weapons by others.

[CTyankee]

4. It is so good to have closure from this traumatic photo!

So many of us have grieved over this photo. It is wonderful now that she is alive and will be able to get the treatment she needs and deserves...

[hifiguy]

5. What a heart-wrenching but somehow beautiful story.

[JI7]

6. i hope we are paYing for this and much more for her

[Zorro]

7. It was a very touching story on CBS Sunday Morning today

The effects of the war in Viet Nam are still with us in so many ways.

[ronnie624]

14. "Us"?

Most US citizens couldn't find Vietnam on a labeled map, and are utterly clueless about the war's true history and its significance.

[jwirr]

18. Not those of us that watched the damned thing on TV. In

those days they didn't lie to us. They showed us Kim running in terror. And it wasn't a one night thing. Back then no one could ignore a war because it was in our living room every day.

I wish the media was as responsible today.

[daleanime]

23. +1

[BeanMusical]

30. +2

[SusanCalvin]

33. +3

[Enthusiast]

45. +4

[HughBeaumont]

49. It's called "They learned their lesson".

The Failure Fuhrer would never have been allowed to "stay the course" on two credit-card wars had the horror of his illegal occupations been exposed. Our country seemed so gung-ho on war that not even Iraq POW torture seemed to make Americans gasp. Some even cheered it.

You'll never hear stories of how a troop of marine reserves from Brookpark, OH lost 26 men in 48 hours of fighting 10 years ago. I heard the horror stories from one of the troops themselves. They were sitting ducks. Some kids, some parents.

No, instead you get American Sniper; rah-rah crapola about how this was all fair and just vengeance for 9/11 and not the tax-wasting, purposeless meat grinder it really was.

[jwirr]

50. Exactly. Our media today sucks.

[a kennedy]

25. What a beautiful person........I cried through the whole story this morning. eom

[Dale Scott]

8. Many years ago some buddies and I spent the night in jail

For pissing on LBJ's grave down in Johnson City Texas.

Actually the charge was trespassing and public intoxication, but the deputy admitted that it was a hell of an revenue stream from all of us Nam vets who made that promise when we were in country.

It was for you too Kim.

Roast In hell Lyndon, just roast in Hell.

[SCantiGOP]

13. Hope you also found Nixon's grave

And took a dump.
Both deserve a lot if acrimony for their roles in that war.
I'm pretty sure that Kennedy would have pulled back had he served two terms. No Gulf of Tonkin bullshit.

[Dale Scott]

16. Why? When I was in Nixon had nothing to do with it.

As a matter of fact he Inherited that shit storm from LBJ.

Rot in hell LBJ, rot in hell.

[lastlib]

19. Nixon's escalation of the war was certainly no less evil,

inherited or not. His massive bombing campaigns (Linebacker, etc.), invasions of Laos and Cambodia, and his treasonous exploitation of the war to get his sorry ass into the White House were as utterly criminal as GWBush's lies to get war started with Iraq. He deserves to burn in hell with the rest of the evil treasonous bastards.

[hifiguy]

20. Wut?

RICHARD NIXON had no responsibiity for deliberately prolonging the Vietnam War for four years so he could cynically use a "peace settlement" for purposes of boosting his reelection campaign?

The same Richard Nixon who, with War Criminal Kissinger, deliberately monkeywrenched LBJ's 1968 peace efforts?

What color is the sky in your world?

Enjoy your stay. It will be short.

[Dale Scott]

24. 'Scuse me. I distinctly said "when I was in Nixon had nothing to do with Nam"

And when I got back I didn't much give a fuck about democrats or republicans or Nixon or Carter or any of them.

I really still don't.

I guess if this place is of the mind that one party is pure as the driven snow and can do no wrong then I'm in the wrong place.

You have a good evening.

[uppityperson]

27. Welcome to DU, ignore the jerks here.

Glad you made it back from Nam.

[cascadiance]

54. You might want to read these links that point to those times to see Nixon's involvement...

... which worked against LBJ's efforts to end the war earlier so that Nixon could get elected. Now, I don't like what LBJ did in a lot of the things he did in that war, but he has a lot of other accomplishments with his presidency, and these bits here indicate to me how it was Nixon's actions and not LBJ's that had the war drag out longer as it did.

This is more described here...

http://www.bbc.com/news/magazine-21768668

Now you can rightly point out that LBJ probably shouldn't have had the illegal spying going on then, which is likely why this wasn't made public then. But you should note equally that Nixon's actions that prevented earlier peace talks from happening so that he could win the election were also treasonous as LBJ described them. LBJ shouldn't take all the blame for the length of the Vietnam war, when arguably Nixon had a lot to do with that.

[BeanMusical]

34. "War Criminal Kissinger"

Yeah, that ghoul have a lot of blood on his hands.

[JI7]

38. the attack on Kim happened when Nixon was Pres and Nixon lied about having a plan to leave

[rockfordfile]

52. Right wing conservatives loved the Vietnam War

A known republican conservative was John Wayne. "He used his iconic star power to support conservative causes, including rallying support for the Vietnam War"

[tavernier]

9. I watched this...

This poor "child to woman" has lived in pain all of her life, due to the napalm scarring burns on her body! My family suffered emotional scars from a war, but just to realize that some victims of war never lose the daily physical pain!

She said her life was spared for a reason (despite being declared dead and being put in the morgue for days), and she is now working with war survivors. This came only after she had made a decision to defect to Canada and give up a somewhat safe life with her husband, who was frightened for them both, but followed her wishes.

I'm touched and saddened knowing of her struggle, but glad that she finally had her story told. I know that many on this board believe that our lives are just a series of non related events, and any justice is merely coincidence, but as I've learned in my almost 70 years, things just aren't always that simple.

[Skittles]

10. beautiful woman

[sharp_stick]

12. I met her

several years ago. I didn't even know her history for the first couple of hours that we were together. It was a common friend that brought it up. She amazed me with her love of life and her incredible ability to bring everyone together. She's an incredible person and I wish only the best for her.

[Submariner]

15. She is the legacy of LBJ and Nixon

Their rotting corpses should be transplanted from the cemetery into a landfill compost heap where they both belong.

[jwirr]

17. Very glad to hear this. She deserves all the help she can be

given. She is the woman who led us out of the War.

[passiveporcupine]

21. What a wonderful thing the doctor is doing for her

She and her husband make a really cute couple. I wish her healing and no more pain once this is over.

Wouldn't it be something if all collateral damage victims of war were treated for free by the country that caused them injury? It seems it should be that way in a compassionate world.

[Liberal_in_LA]

22. kick

[mike_c]

26. somewhat off topic, but "napalm girl' has a name....

I'm not criticizing the poster, but rather American journalism, or perhaps the America readership. Most have no idea who Kim Phuc is, and I'm betting many news outlets resist spelling her name for its sophomoric value, but still. "Napalm girl" is so damned third grade.

[subterranean]

40. The photo itself is also commonly known as "Napalm Girl."

Which is probably why they put quotes around it. The headline writer didn't make it up. As you say, most people don't know who Kim Phuc is, but when I read "'Napalm Girl' from Vietnam War," I immediately knew to whom it was referring. They could have included her name in the headline, of course, but they did use it throughout the article. I've also seen no reluctance to use her name by other news outlets.

[Spitfire of ATJ]

28. The video of the original news footage is hard to watch...

As she runs by you can see the extent of her burns.

Another small child (dead or dying) is being carried out too.

Again: [font color=red size=6]WARNING - GRAPHIC VIDEO[/font]

http://www.dailymotion.com/video/x71ks1_phan-thi-kim-phuc-vietnam-napalm_news

When burns like this happen the upper layer of skin blanches and peals off like a glove.

The actual pain arrives later.

[MuseRider]

29. The baby

I had never seen the baby. I don't know if when I saw the original video or photos right after it had happened if I had just turned away, I can't imagine I could forget that. I know I never will now.

It all makes me so ashamed.

[Spitfire of ATJ]

35. Dahr Jamail's journal showed similar images coming out of Iraq.

[MuseRider]

39. I do remember seeing many photos

from Iraq. Made me ill and very sad. Photos from Falllujah were terrible. ALL photos like this are.

It is important that we see them. Breaks you down but important. We will never stop the senseless killing until the majority of the people here are ruined with photos of what we are doing.

[SusanCalvin]

36. News footage. Would never make it onto corp TV today. nt

[Kath1]

31. That photograph has always haunted me.

I was a 14 year old high school girl in 1972 and that picture did more to make me very anti-war and a peace activist than any 1,000 speeches ever could. The image speaks for itself. Always wondered what became of her.

Bless her. Hope she gets the treatment she needs.

And damn the people responsible for putting this child through so much misery!

[AgingAmerican]

32. That was a good story I always wondered what happened to her

[madaboutharry]

37. Every time I read about this woman I cry.

She is a symbol to me of both cruelty and kindness.

[WillyT]

41. HUGE K & R !!! - Thank You !!!

[yuiyoshida]

44. Here she is today

[flamingdem]

47. Oh my goodness I didn't know she was still alive

I saw that picture on the front page of the NYT as a child. Happy to see her, great article.

[PatSeg]

46. Excellent article

I remember the horrors of that time too well. It seems as a species, we never learn.

[flamingdem]

48. Apparently Obama banned napalm

finally.

Love our Potus!

[rockfordfile]

51. That's good

[patsimp]

53. Bless her.