Vo Suu

Vo Suu was an NBC cameraman and a Vietnam War correspondent.

On February 1, 1968, in Saigon (today's Ho Chi Minh City ), he recorded the shooting of Nguyễn Văn Lém - a Viet Cong fighter ("battle name" Bảy Lốp) - who was on the street in front of him and the photographer Eddie Adams was executed with a shot in the head by the South Vietnamese police chief Nguyễn Ngọc Loan . The photo of the last second in the life of Nguyễn Văn Lém went around the world and in 1968 became the press photo of the year . The moment that Adams photographed is missing on Vo Suu's film, because at that moment a soldier was walking past the lens of the film camera.

content of the film

The film sequence recorded in color and sound by Vo Suu begins with a group of Vietnamese soldiers who lead Nguyễn Văn Lém, whose hands are cuffed behind his back, to a group of other soldiers, including General Nguyễn Ngọc Loan. After a brief exchange of words, the general waves his silver revolver and the group breaks up. Nguyễn Văn Lém stops without looking at the general. Without further ado, he quickly points the gun at Nguyễn Văn Lém's right head and pulls the trigger. Nguyễn Văn Lém's body sags, spasms for a moment, then relaxes and lies on its left side. A fountain of blood rushes from the entry wound on the head onto the asphalt. The general puts the revolver in his belt and calmly leaves the frame to the right.