Archived posting to the Leica Users Group, 1998/07/18
[Author Prev] [Author Next] [Thread Prev] [Thread Next] [Author Index] [Topic Index] [Home] [Search]SNIP -- Eric Welch wrote: > > ... had become friends with the General, and knew him after he > immigrated here and opened a restaurant. ... I think his name is Gen > Nguyen since I believe they put their family name first in Vietnam ... SNIP -- Eric, On Thursday, July 16, 1998, The Washington Post carried four columns of six inches regarding General Loan's life and his death at 67. The Post's secondary headline was, "News Photograph and TV Film of His Execution of Vietcong Prisoner in 1968 Fueled Opposition to War." The Post, which is "politically correct," published Nguyen Ngoc Loan's name as "General Loan." The Post also gave one author's version of the shooting. Stanley Karnow in his book, "Vietnam: A History," states that just prior to the killing and the taking of the photograph, " Communist invaders had killed several of his men, including one gunned down with his (not Loan's) wife and children in their house, and Loan was roaming the capital in an attempt to stiffen its defenses." The photograph was taken on February 1, 1968, during the Tet Offensive. NBC also had a video recording of the episode, which it broadcasted the next day in the U.S. In 1975, when Saigon fell, General Loan fled South Vietnam. In Northern Virginia, where General Loan resettled, he operated a restaurant, Les Trois Continents, in Dale City, Virginia, which is south of the District of Columbia on I-95. Subject shift to pure Leica -- By the way the light was fantastic for photographing in Virginia today! My CL and its f/2 50mm Summicron captured a man and a big green parrot eating "their" blueberry biscuit at an outside table in Leesburg, Virginia (f/5.6 at 1/125). My best to all, Bill Caldwell