The Terror of War

June 8, 1972

Nick Ut

Associated Names
Nick Ut

Artist, American, born Vietnam, 1951

Associated Press

Publisher

This is a black-and-white photograph of a group of children and soldiers on a road. Several children are running towards the camera and appear to be screaming or crying. The first child on the left is a boy in a white shirt and dark shorts, visibly crying, his mouth wide open. Next to him is a girl, unclothed, her arms stretched out to her sides. Behind them is another child in a white shirt and shorts who turns to look back over their shoulder. On the right side, two children are walking closely together, one in light-colored clothing holding hands with a child in darker clothes. In the background, several soldiers in military attire are walking down the road towards the children. The background displays a rural setting with open fields under a dark sky filled with dark, billowing smoke. There are several lines of text on the left edge of the photograph
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Artwork overview

  • Medium

    gelatin silver print

  • Credit Line

    Gift of Mary and Dan Solomon

  • Dimensions

    image/sheet: 17.8 × 25.2 cm (7 × 9 15/16 in.)

  • Accession Number

    2018.177.629

Artwork history & notes

Provenance

Mary and Dan Solomon, Monarch Beach, CA; gift to NGA, 2018.

Associated Names

Inscriptions

vertical along left edge printed in image: (ONE OF A SERIES OF A PICTURE BACKGROUND OF THE VIETNAM WAR) / (NY28-Oct. 26) TERROR OF WAR--South Vietnamese forces are shown / following terrified children fleeing down Route 1, near Trang Bang, / South Vietnam, in June, 1972, after a misplaced allied napalm strike. / Girl at center had ripped off her burning clothes. She suffered back / burns. The firebomb was dropped by a Skyraider plane. (AP Wirephoto) / (pr51532fls) 1972; on verso, center printed in black ink on applied newspaper: --AP Wirephoto / For Children: Terror / SOUTH VIETNAMESE soldiers follow terrified chil- / dren down Route 1 near Trang Bang in June, 1972, / after misplaced Allied napalm bombs struck their / village. Nude girl ripped off her burning clothing / before she fled.; center right stamped in red ink on applied newspaper: WED JAN 24 1973

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