{"id":110454,"date":"2019-08-31T16:51:35","date_gmt":"2019-08-31T20:51:35","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.gunsamerica.com\/digest\/?p=110454"},"modified":"2019-08-31T16:51:35","modified_gmt":"2023-09-05T22:55:30","slug":"the-photograph-that-lost-a-war","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/gunsamerica.com\/digest\/the-photograph-that-lost-a-war\/","title":{"rendered":"The Photograph that Lost a War"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
\"The
The photograph of Brigadier General Nguyen Ngoc Loan executing VC Captain Nguyen Van Lem galvanized antiwar sentiment during the Vietnam War. <\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

On February 1, 1968, Saigon, South\nVietnam, was in the opening throes of the Tet Offensive. North Vietnamese\ncommanders called it \u201cThe General Offensive and Uprising of Tet\nMau Than 1968.\u201d Two days prior more than 80,000 Viet Cong and North Vietnamese Army\ntroops had attacked more than 100 towns including 36 of 44 provincial South\nVietnamese capitals. This offensive was the largest military operation to date\nin the Vietnam War.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"The
The Tet Offensive was a massive North Vietnamese invasion of South Vietnam intended to tip the balance of the war in favor of the communists. <\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

The operation\u2019s goals were\nambitious. North Vietnamese strategists saw Tet as an awakening wherein disaffected\ncitizens throughout the south would rise up and join the communist cause. In\nthis regard Tet was an unqualified failure.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The North lost more than 45,000 troops\nkilled and some 61,000 wounded. They also ultimately lost all the territory\nthey had initially gained in the attack. However, the ferocity and scope of the\nthing shocked Americans who had been told by their government that North\nVietnamese forces lacked the resources to mount a major offensive. The ripples\ncaused by Tet eventually grew into a tidal wave of anti-war sentiment. This\nmovement ultimately led the United States to the bargaining table and then out\nof Vietnam. One particular event catalyzed this process.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Killing<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
\"The
Nguyen Van Lem was an experienced VC officer. In modern parlance, we would call him a professional terrorist. Note the AK47 in the hands of the South Vietnamese soldier. <\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Nguyen Van Lem was a 36-year-old Viet Cong Captain code-named Bay Lop. Bay referred to the fact he was the seventh son. He took Lop from his wife Nguyen Thi Lop\u2019s name. In Vietnamese, the first name is the surname.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"The
By all accounts, Lem was an accomplished killer. Note the South Vietnamese trooper wielding an Uzi. This would have been fairly unusual in 1968 Saigon. <\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Lem was part of a VC assassination team that covertly infiltrated into Saigon during the opening rounds of the Tet Offensive. Their mission was to identify and execute critical personalities in the South Vietnamese leadership. Immediately prior to his capture, Lem was alleged to have personally cut the throats of a South Vietnamese Lieutenant Colonel named Nguyen Tran, his wife, their six children, and the ARVN officer\u2019s 80-year-old mother.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"The
Nguyen Ngoc Loan was a powerful figure in 1968 Saigon. <\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Captured by South Vietnamese security\ntroops, Lem was brought before Brigadier General Nguyen Ngoc Loan. Loan was an\nexperienced officer and former combat pilot with the Vietnamese Air Force. By\nearly 1968 Loan was in command of the Military Security Service, the Central\nIntelligence Organization, and the Republic of Vietnam National Police, positions\nthat gave him immense personal power.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"The
The apparent callous heartlessness of the killing of Nguyen Lem shocked American sensibilities. <\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Lem, the VC Captain, was in civilian clothes with his hands cuffed behind his back standing in the street. He had been captured in the Cho Lon quarter of Saigon near the An Quang Pagoda. Enraged by the bloodthirsty nature of Lem\u2019s attack on a fellow officer and his family, Loan drew his Smith and Wesson snub-nosed Bodyguard .38 revolver and shot Lem once in the head. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"The
Lem\u2019s death was just one of the thousands associated with Tet in 1968. Note the M3 Grease Gun with flash hider. <\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Lem fell to the ground with blood spurting\nvigorously from his wound. An Associated Press photographer named Eddie Adams snapped\na series of still images, and NBC News cameraman Vo Suru shot TV footage of the\nevent. Immediately after the execution Loan told the American Adams, \u201cThey killed many of\nour people and many of yours. I think Buddha will forgive me.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Shooter<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
\"The
Loan was an experienced combat pilot and a man with enormous responsibility in 1968 Saigon. <\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Nguyen Ngoc Loan was a committed South Vietnamese nationalist and career professional soldier. Born in 1930 to a middle-class family in the Vietnamese city of Hue, Loan was one of eleven children. He studied pharmacy at Hue University before joining the Vietnamese National Army in 1951. He soon assessed into Officer Candidate School and received pilot training in Morocco. Loan returned to Vietnam in 1955 and spent the next decade as a combat pilot.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"The
Despite his notoriety, General Nguyen Loan was an unabashed patriot. <\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Loan\u2019s political connections\nwere substantial. He rode the combination of his powerful friends and his\nnatural skills to positions of ever-greater leadership and responsibility. Loan\nrefused to give Americans preferential treatment in his jurisdiction, and his\nfiercely pro-Vietnamese professional stance earned him some enemies within the\nAmerican command structure. Loan actually resigned at one point under American\npressure only to have the South Vietnamese legislature refuse to recognize his\nresignation.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"The
General Nguyen Loan was himself wounded in the second offensive on Saigon. <\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Loan was known informally as the Sheriff of Saigon. In the midst of such a sweeping attack, he had responsibility for order and security in the South Vietnamese capital. What is lost in the iconic photograph are the circumstances surrounding the killing.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"The
Lem was clearly not a conventional combatant at the time of his capture. <\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Two days into the Tet offensive nobody in Vietnam knew where events might lead. With Viet Cong assassination squads roaming the South, chaos reigned. Under such conditions the traditional lines became blurred. By all accounts, Lem had infiltrated covertly in civilian clothes and then brutally murdered nine people, six of whom were children.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The\nLaw<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
\"The
The formal articles of war known as the Geneva Convention define military combatants and codify their rights on the battlefield. Protections for unconventional fighters are scant. <\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Article 4 of the Third Geneva Convention of 1949 concerns irregular forces fighting in an unconventional war. To be entitled to prisoner of war status guerillas must be commanded by a person responsible for his subordinates, have a fixed distinctive sign recognizable at a distance, carry weapons openly, and conduct their operations in accordance with the laws and customs of war. If they fail to meet these stipulations they may be considered francs-tireurs (illegal combatants) and punished as criminals in military jurisdiction. Such punishment may legally include summary execution.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The\nGun<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
\"The
The Smith and Wesson Model 36 was the archetypal snub-nosed .38 Special revolver. <\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

The Smith and Wesson\nBodyguard .38 was an evolutionary development of their post-war five-shot Model\n36 snub-nosed gun. The Model 36 pioneered the small J-frame wheelguns that became\nthe industry pacesetters for concealable revolvers. Originally chambered for\nthe ubiquitous .38 Special cartridge, the Model 36 was offered with both 2 and\n3-inch barrels.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"The
The Smith and Wesson Model 37 Airweight was an aluminum-framed lightweight version of the earlier Model 36. <\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

The Model 36 evolved into\nthe Airweight Model 37 with an aluminum frame and cylinder. Problems with the\naluminum cylinders eventually lead to the same gun equipped with an aluminum\nframe and more conventional steel cylinder.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"The
The Smith and Wesson Centennial was a double action only variant of the Model 36 snubbie. <\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Later versions included the S&W\nCentennial, a hammerless version of this same steel-framed pistol, and the\nBodyguard. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"The
The Bodyguard included a shrouded no-snag hammer that was still accessible for manual operation if desired. <\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

The S&W Bodyguard was a standard\nshort-barreled Model 36 with an external hammer and hammer shroud. This shroud\nallowed quick snag-free presentation yet still facilitated access to the hammer\nfor single action operation if desired.  <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"The
The current Smith and Wesson Bodyguard .38 is a thoroughly modern redesign of the original revolver. <\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Versions of the Bodyguard were ultimately\noffered with either steel or aluminum frames in either .38 SPL or .357 Magnum\nchamberings, each carrying its own unique factory designation. In 2014 Smith\nand Wesson reintroduced an upgraded version of the Bodyguard that departed significantly\nfrom the previous guns. The new Bodyguard sports an aluminum frame, redesigned\nlockwork, a concealed hammer, and an integral laser sight. Unlike earlier\nBodyguard pistols this new version does not allow the hammer to be manually\ncocked.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"The
Bernie Goetz used a Smith and Wesson Bodyguard .38 to earn the infamous moniker \u201cthe Subway Vigilante\u201d in New York City in 1984. <\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Clyde Tolson, the Special Assistant to J.\nEdgar Hoover, carried a personalized Bodyguard Airweight. Bernie Goetz used a\nBodyguard revolver to shoot four young criminals on a New York subway train in\n1984. The subsequent acrimonious legal fallout from this \u201cSubway Vigilante\u201d helped galvanize\nthe concealed carry movement in America.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Rest of the\nStory<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
\"The
Lem\u2019s wife learned of his death when she first saw the notorious photograph herself. <\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

That single still image of Loan shooting a restrained Lem circled the globe. Without context, Americans found themselves unable to support a regime that engaged in such barbaric actions. The anti-war movement gained momentum and eventually led to the end of direct American military involvement in 1973. Lem\u2019s wife Lop learned of her husband\u2019s death when she saw the image on the front page of an American newspaper.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"The
Loan settled into obscurity, eventually running a pizza restaurant in a Virginia shopping mall with his wife. <\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Nguyen Ngoc Loan fled Saigon for the United States in 1975 and settled in Dale City, Virginia. There he opened a pizza restaurant called Le Trois Continents at the Rolling Valley Mall. At the same time, he worked as a secretary in a Washington DC business office.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"The
Pulitzer Prize-winning photographer Eddie Adams was supposed to help indict Nguyen Ngoc Loan for the INS. Instead, he vindicated the South Vietnamese General. <\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Democratic US Representative Elizabeth Holtzman discovered Loan\u2019s whereabouts and forwarded his name to the INS as part of a list of foreign nationals suspected of war crimes. In an effort at revoking his permanent resident status, the INS called the photographer Eddie Adams to testify against him. Adams, who won a Pulitzer Prize for the photograph, instead testified in the General\u2019s defense. As a result, the INS ruled in Loan\u2019s favor. President Jimmy Carter then personally intervened and halted his deportation stating, \u201cSuch historical revisionism is folly.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"The
A distinguished combat veteran, General Nguyen Ngoc Loan killed a man in cold blood on a Saigon street in February of 1968. That killing subsequently defined his life. <\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Adams later apologized in\nperson to both the General and his family for the damage his photograph had\ndone to Loan\u2019s reputation. Nguyen Ngoc Loan died in 1998 at age 67 in Burke,\nVirginia, of cancer. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"The
Eddie Adams, the award-winning war photographer who snapped the infamous picture, ultimately became the General\u2019s most vocal proponent. <\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Pulitzer Prize-winning photographer Eddie Adams penned Loan\u2019s eulogy in the pages of Time<\/em> magazine: \u201cTwo people died in that photograph\u2026the general killed the Viet Cong; I killed the general with my camera. Still, photographs are the most powerful weapons in the world. People believe them, but photographs do lie, even without manipulation. They are only half-truths. What the photograph didn’t say was, \u2018What would you do if you were the general at that time and place on that hot day, and you caught the so-called bad guy after he blew away one, two or three American soldiers?\u2019 General Loan was what you would call a real warrior\u2026this picture really messed up his life. He never blamed me\u2026I\u2019m sorry. There are tears in my eyes.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"The
A single image frequently fails to tell the whole story. <\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
\"The<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

On February 1, 1968, Saigon, South Vietnam, was in the opening throes of the Tet Offensive. North Vietnamese commanders called it \u201cThe General Offensive and Uprising of Tet Mau Than 1968.\u201d Two days prior more than 80,000 Viet Cong and North Vietnamese Army troops had attacked more than 100 towns including 36 of 44 provincial South Vietnamese capitals. <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":66,"featured_media":110484,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_specdata_upc":"","_specdata_placement":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[7,257,772],"tags":[132,102,752,636,2005],"featured":[],"hunt365":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-110454","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-gunsamerica-authors","8":"category-historical-guns","9":"category-will-dabbs","10":"tag-buzz","11":"tag-feature-articles","12":"tag-historical-guns","13":"tag-history","14":"tag-vietnam"},"yoast_head":"\nThe Photograph that Lost a War<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"The Photograph that Lost a War - Historical Guns\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/gunsamerica.com\/digest\/the-photograph-that-lost-a-war\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"The Photograph that Lost a War\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"On February 1, 1968, Saigon, South Vietnam, was in the opening throes of the Tet Offensive. North Vietnamese commanders called it \u201cThe General Offensive and Uprising of Tet Mau Than 1968.\u201d Two days prior more than 80,000 Viet Cong and North Vietnamese Army troops had attacked more than 100 towns including 36 of 44 provincial South Vietnamese capitals.\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/gunsamerica.com\/digest\/the-photograph-that-lost-a-war\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Gun Reviews and News | GunsAmerica.com\/Digest\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:publisher\" content=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/gunsamerica\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:author\" content=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/will.dabbs.9\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2019-08-31T20:51:35+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2023-09-05T22:55:30+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/gunsamerica.com\/digest\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/05\/dabbsphotowar-4-1.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"1200\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"667\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Will Dabbs\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:creator\" content=\"@gunsamerica\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:site\" content=\"@gunsamerica\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Will Dabbs\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"9 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\\\/\\\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/gunsamerica.com\\\/digest\\\/the-photograph-that-lost-a-war\\\/#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/gunsamerica.com\\\/digest\\\/the-photograph-that-lost-a-war\\\/\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"Will Dabbs\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/gunsamerica.com\\\/digest\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/4b818f415191c071a88bdc0d8cb33eca\"},\"headline\":\"The Photograph that Lost a War\",\"datePublished\":\"2019-08-31T20:51:35+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2023-09-05T22:55:30+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/gunsamerica.com\\\/digest\\\/the-photograph-that-lost-a-war\\\/\"},\"wordCount\":1887,\"commentCount\":45,\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/gunsamerica.com\\\/digest\\\/#organization\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/gunsamerica.com\\\/digest\\\/the-photograph-that-lost-a-war\\\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/gunsamerica.com\\\/digest\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2019\\\/05\\\/dabbsphotowar-4-1.jpg\",\"keywords\":[\"Buzz\",\"Feature Articles\",\"Historical Guns\",\"History\",\"Vietnam\"],\"articleSection\":[\"Authors\",\"Historical Guns\",\"Will Dabbs\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"CommentAction\",\"name\":\"Comment\",\"target\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/gunsamerica.com\\\/digest\\\/the-photograph-that-lost-a-war\\\/#respond\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/gunsamerica.com\\\/digest\\\/the-photograph-that-lost-a-war\\\/\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/gunsamerica.com\\\/digest\\\/the-photograph-that-lost-a-war\\\/\",\"name\":\"The Photograph that Lost a War\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/gunsamerica.com\\\/digest\\\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/gunsamerica.com\\\/digest\\\/the-photograph-that-lost-a-war\\\/#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/gunsamerica.com\\\/digest\\\/the-photograph-that-lost-a-war\\\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/gunsamerica.com\\\/digest\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2019\\\/05\\\/dabbsphotowar-4-1.jpg\",\"datePublished\":\"2019-08-31T20:51:35+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2023-09-05T22:55:30+00:00\",\"description\":\"The Photograph that Lost a War - 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Look no further than GunsAmerica.com, America's premier destination for buying and selling firearms.\",\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/gunsamerica.com\\\/digest\\\/#organization\"},\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\\\/\\\/gunsamerica.com\\\/digest\\\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":{\"@type\":\"PropertyValueSpecification\",\"valueRequired\":true,\"valueName\":\"search_term_string\"}}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Organization\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/gunsamerica.com\\\/digest\\\/#organization\",\"name\":\"GunsAmerica\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/gunsamerica.com\\\/digest\\\/\",\"logo\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/gunsamerica.com\\\/digest\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/logo\\\/image\\\/\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/gunsamerica.com\\\/digest\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/01\\\/image-3.png\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/gunsamerica.com\\\/digest\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/01\\\/image-3.png\",\"width\":286,\"height\":156,\"caption\":\"GunsAmerica\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/gunsamerica.com\\\/digest\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/logo\\\/image\\\/\"},\"sameAs\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/www.facebook.com\\\/gunsamerica\",\"https:\\\/\\\/x.com\\\/gunsamerica\",\"https:\\\/\\\/instagram.com\\\/gunsamerica_official\\\/\",\"https:\\\/\\\/www.youtube.com\\\/user\\\/GunsAmerica\"]},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/gunsamerica.com\\\/digest\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/4b818f415191c071a88bdc0d8cb33eca\",\"name\":\"Will Dabbs\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/3f92754a3ed333ac83169c15688576870270fedca39840d42964bdc8aba0f8bc?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/3f92754a3ed333ac83169c15688576870270fedca39840d42964bdc8aba0f8bc?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/3f92754a3ed333ac83169c15688576870270fedca39840d42964bdc8aba0f8bc?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"caption\":\"Will Dabbs\"},\"description\":\"Will is still trying to figure out what he really wants to be when he grows up. However, shooting guns and claiming it was work seemed like a pretty sweet hustle. As a result, Will serendipitously transformed an avocation into a vocation. Raised in the Mississippi Delta, Will flew UH1H, OH58A\\\/C, CH47D and AH1S helicopters operationally as an Army Aviator. He is SCUBA-qualified and has parachuted out of perfectly good airplanes at 3 o'clock in the morning. Will has summited Mount McKinley, Alaska, six times\u2026always at the controls of an Army helicopter, which is the only way sensible folk climb mountains. Will has delivered sixty babies and occasionally wrung human blood out of his socks. He is married to his high school sweetheart and has three awesome adult children. Turn-ons include vintage German machineguns, flying his sexy-cool RV6A airplane, Count Chocula cereal and the movie \u201cAliens.\u201d www.word-monkey.com Experience: -Professional Writer-thousands of publishing credits for dozens of titles -Mechanical Engineer\\\/Practicing Physician -Instrument-rated Commercial Pilot -Sunday School Teacher\",\"sameAs\":[\"http:\\\/\\\/www.word-monkey.com\",\"https:\\\/\\\/www.facebook.com\\\/will.dabbs.9\",\"https:\\\/\\\/www.instagram.com\\\/drwildmanmd\\\/\"],\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/gunsamerica.com\\\/digest\\\/author\\\/willdabbs\\\/\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO Premium plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"The Photograph that Lost a War","description":"The Photograph that Lost a War - Historical Guns","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/gunsamerica.com\/digest\/the-photograph-that-lost-a-war\/","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"The Photograph that Lost a War","og_description":"On February 1, 1968, Saigon, South Vietnam, was in the opening throes of the Tet Offensive. 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