The Most Memorable Photographs

Kim Phuc - Nick Ut

June 8, 1972
Associated Press | Trang Bang, Viet Nam
One of the most memorable photos of the Vietnam War, Kim Phuc is shown running away from the Cao Dai temple in the village of Trang Bang. The South Vietnamese napalmed the area as the Viet Cong were present at the location. Kim Phuc flees naked after removing her burning clothes.

It is hard to look at this photo, especially if you have children. Being nine years old at the time, Kim's expression of pain and fear brings up parental instincts of protection in anyone who sees the image. The fact that she is nude and burnt just exaggerates the emotional feelings.

Hector Pieterson - Sam Nzima

June 16, 1976
Soweto Riots, South Africa
Sam Nzima's iconic photograph of three students rushing away from police bullets during the Soweto Riots has become the most famous of pictures worldwide of the evils of Apartheid. . Thirteen year old Hector Pieterson is bleeding to death in the arms of fellow student Mbuyisa Makhubo. Antionette Pieterson (Hector's sister) runs along side. Pieterson died shortly after this picture was taken.

When knowing that police officers are capable of shooting defenseless children (they killed 566 that day), you must wonder how humanity has ever come out of the dark ages. It is little comfort to know that this photograph was a large nail in the coffin of white rule in South Africa. You hope that those running the public institutions never forget that they are there in part because of the blood of the children of South Africa.

Woman in the Mask - Various Photographers

July 7, 2005
London, England
Davinia Turrell (the woman in the mask) was caught in the London Bombings receiving burns to her face and other body parts. The man next to her is Paul Dadge, an ex-firefighter who gave the gel mask to Davinia to ease the pain of her burns. This photo (and others of the same scene) has become one of the most important to giving a face to terrorism perpetrated on the West.

Conrad Schumann - Peter Leibing

August 15, 1961
Berlin, Germany
One of the most famous photos of the Cold War, it shows Conrad Schumann, a 19 year old East German soldier, who shirks his sentry duty at the barbwire that separates East and West Berlin, to jump to freedom. With the amount of people who tried to escape Communism and died in the pursuit, you can understand the gravity of the situation and what a chance Conrad Schumann was taking.

Thich Quang Duc - David Halberstam Photograph)

Thích Quang Duc - David Halberstam

June 11, 1963
New York Times | Saigon. Viet Nam
A powerful photograph of a Buddhist monk who burned himself to death, once seen it is very difficult to forget. The image shows Thích Quang Duc on fire at the corner of Phan Dính Phung St. and Le Van Duyet St. in Saigon. He was protesting the oppression of the Buddhist religion by then President Ngo Dính Diem.

Self-immolation is one of the more horrific sights for any human being to witness and the monk's choice to make it so public was an act of such strong political will, that his death, though tragic, is a celebration of the right to freedom of religious expression.

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