VITA VISSUTA

I’m back to Hanoi after five days spent in Northern Vietnam, experiencing the Hmong People culture and hospitality, trekking across their villages in the Sapa area.

The feeling of the Tet, the Vietnamese Lunar New Year, is extremely vibrant: peach trees, clementine, red ribbons are everywhere, and while most of the business are closed for this entire week, restaurants, coffee shops and bars are packed.

As usually happens in such cases, a memory cell has opened up, bringing me back to 1968, 56 years ago, almost in the exact same month: the Vietnam War, the Tet Offensive, and the photo “Saigon Execution”, that made Eddy Adams to win the Pulitzer Price.

The Vietnam Tet Offensive, launched by the Viet Cong and North Vietnamese forces on January 30, 1968, marked a critical turning point in the Vietnam War. Tet, the Vietnamese New Year, traditionally signified a period of ceasefire and celebration. However, in 1968, the Viet Cong and North Vietnamese Army launched a coordinated series of attacks across South Vietnam, catching American and South Vietnamese forces off guard and challenging the perception of US military superiority.

The Tet Offensive was a multi-faceted campaign, targeting major urban centers, military installations, and government buildings throughout South Vietnam. The scale and scope of the attacks were unprecedented, demonstrating the Viet Cong’s ability to launch large-scale offensives despite significant losses in previous engagements.

One of the key objectives of the Tet Offensive was to undermine American and South Vietnamese morale and erode support for the war effort both domestically and internationally. The audaciousness of the attacks, particularly the infiltration of the US Embassy compound in Saigon, shocked the world and shattered the illusion of American invincibility.

Despite initial successes, the Tet Offensive ultimately ended in military defeat for the Viet Cong and North Vietnamese forces. US and South Vietnamese troops mounted a fierce counteroffensive, recapturing lost territory and inflicting heavy casualties on the enemy. However, the Tet Offensive had far-reaching political and psychological ramifications that would shape the course of the war and American public opinion.

The Tet Offensive exposed the widening credibility gap between official statements from the US government and the harsh realities on the ground in Vietnam. The optimistic assessments of progress by military and political leaders contrasted sharply with the images of urban warfare and civilian casualties broadcasted into living rooms across America. The dissonance between rhetoric and reality fueled growing anti-war sentiment and sparked widespread protests against US involvement in Vietnam.

Moreover, the Tet Offensive dealt a severe blow to the Johnson administration’s credibility and further eroded public confidence in the war effort. The perception of a stalemate in Vietnam undermined President Lyndon B. Johnson’s credibility and contributed to his decision not to seek reelection in 1968.

The Tet Offensive represented a strategic miscalculation on the part of the Viet Cong and North Vietnamese leadership, as the attacks inflicted significant casualties and temporarily destabilized South Vietnam, but failed to achieve their primary objective of fomenting a popular uprising against the Saigon government. This is true, but the effect caused in the Western World was absolutely blow minding, exposing the horror of a war that was, mostly in the US, defined as victoriously under full control.

One photo represents this story, taken by Eddy Adams, “Saigon Execution”

The execution of Nguyễn Văn Lém on February 1, 1968, during the Vietnam War, remains one of the most iconic and controversial moments in the conflict’s history. The image of General Nguyễn Ngọc Loan shooting Lém in the head encapsulates the brutality and moral ambiguity of war.

Lém, a Viet Cong operative, was apprehended during the Tet Offensive, a turning point in the conflict. General Loan’s decision to execute Lém summarily reflected the intense emotions and pressures of urban warfare. The photograph’s starkness crystallized the human cost and ethical dilemmas of armed conflict, sparking global debate and condemnation.

Lém’s execution symbolized the blurred lines between justice and vengeance, highlighting the complexities of asymmetric warfare. It became a powerful emblem of the Vietnam War’s brutality and fueled anti-war sentiment worldwide. Decades later, the image continues to evoke reflection on the enduring scars of war and the imperative of peace.

You can find Adams’ photo in this link, while my article shows the daily life in Hanoi this week (captured on Leica M11 Monochrom)