Archive, Photographs
Nguyen Van Lem; Bay Lop South Vietnamese forces escort suspected Viet Cong officer Nguyen Van Lem (also known as Bay Lop) on a Saigon street Feb. 1, 1968, early in the Tet Offensive. Moments later, Lem was executed by Gen. Nguyen Ngoc Loan, chief of the national police. (AP Photo/Eddie Adams)

The Saigon Execution, 1 February 1968 by Eddie Adams (America, 1933-2004)

Nguyễn Văn Lém, often referred to as Bảy Lốp, was an officer of the Viet Cong with the rank of captain. He was summarily executed in Saigon by Republic of Vietnam General Nguyễn Ngọc Loan during the Tet Offensive in the Vietnam War. A photo of the execution won the 1969 Pulitzer Prize for Spot News Photography and helped galvanise the anti-war movement in the United States.

"Still photographs are the most powerful weapon in the world."

Eddie Adams