Kim Phuc Phan Thi

Phan Th? Kim Phúc (born 1963) was a resident of the village of Trang Bang, Vietnam. On June 8, 1972, South Vietnamese planes dropped a napalm bomb on Trang Bang, which was under attack from and occupied by Viet Cong forces. Kim Phúc joined a group of civilians and ARVN soldiers fleeing from the Cao Dai Temple located in the village along the road to safe ARVN positions. A South Vietnamese pilot mistook the group as a threat and diverted to attack it. The napalm strike severely burned her and harmed the other children, her two cousins and two brothers, who ran with her. Her escape was caught on film by Associated Press photographer Nick Út, who earned a Pulitzer Prize for his snapshot. The image of her running naked amidst the chaotic background became one of the most remembered images of the Vietnam War. In an interview many years later, she remembers yelling "it's hot, it's hot" in the picture.

Related Topics:
1963 - Trang Bang - Vietnam - June 8 - 1972 - South Vietnam - Napalm - Viet Cong - Associated Press - Photographer - Nick Út - Pulitzer Prize - Vietnam War

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After taking the photograph, Út promptly took Kim Phúc to a hospital in Saigon where it was determined that her burns were so severe that she would not survive. However, after 14 months of medical attention, she returned home.

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When she was an adult, due to pressure from people to use her as an anti-war symbol she requested permission from the Vietnam government to go to Cuba to resume her studies. By this time she had converted from her family's religion of Caodai to Christianity. Pham Van Dong, the then Prime-Minister of Vietnam, became a friend and patron of hers.

Related Topics:
Anti-war - Symbol - Government - Cuba - Caodai - Christianity - Pham Van Dong

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After receiving permission, she then moved to Cuba, and met Bui Huy Tuan. They married and, in 1992, they went on a honeymoon. During an airplane refueling in Gander, Newfoundland, Canada, they got off the plane and defected to Canada. They now live in Toronto and have two children.

Related Topics:
Married - 1992 - Honeymoon - Gander - Newfoundland - Canada - Defected - Toronto

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In 1996, she met the surgeons who saved her life. She also gave a speech at the Vietnam Veterans' Memorial in America on Veteran's Day.

Related Topics:
1996 - Surgeon

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On November 10, 1997, Kim Phúc was named a UNESCO Goodwill Ambassador.

Related Topics:
November 10 - 1997 - UNESCO Goodwill Ambassador

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On October 22, 2004, she was awarded an honorary Doctorate of Laws from York University in Toronto, Ontario, Canada for her work to aid child victims of war around the world. In 2005, she was awarded the Order of Ontario.

Related Topics:
October 22 - 2004 - York University - Toronto - Ontario - Canada - Order of Ontario

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Kim Phuc is also the name of an underground punk band in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.

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