Photos: Iconic images from the Vietnam War era
The following is a look back at some of the most iconic images from AP photographers taken during the Vietnam War. Ken Burns' and Lynn Novick examine the subject in their new PBS documentary series, "The Vietnam War," which begins Sunday, Sept. 17 and runs through Sept. 28.
John Kennedy, JFK 1962
President John F. Kennedy reviews the First Air Commando Group at a demonstration at Eglin Air Force Base, Florida on May 4, 1962. The outfit has trained for guerilla warfare and some of its members returned from action in Vietnam. (AP Photo)
Thich Quang Duc 1963
EDS NOTE: GRAPHIC CONTENT - The flaming body of a Buddhist monk, the Rev. Thich Quang Duc, is shown as it fell over on the pavement of a main intersection in Saigon, Vietnam, June 11, 1963. The elderly monk set fire to his clothing and burned himself to death in protest of alleged government persecution of Buddhists. Other monks kneel with hands clasped in prayer. (AP Photo/Malcolm Browne)
VIETNAM U.S. WAR IS HELL 1965
An unidentified U.S. Army personnel wears a hand lettered "War Is Hell" slogan on his helmet, June 18, 1965, during the Vietnam War. He was with the 173rd Airborne Brigade Battalion on defense duty at Phouc Vinh airstrip in South Vietnam. (AP Photo/Horst Faas)
VIETNAM TREATING WOUNDED 1965
U.S. advisers use a poncho tied to a pole to carry a wounded South Vietnamese soldier to a U.S. helicopter for evacuation to Saigon, September 1965. (AP Photo)
U.S. PARATROOPERS 1965
Paratroopers of the U.S. 2nd Battalion, 173rd Airborne Brigade hold their automatic weapons above water as they cross a river in the rain during a search for Viet Cong positions in the jungle area of Ben Cat, South Vietnam, Sept. 25, 1965. The paratroopers had been searching the area for 12 days with no enemy contact. (AP Photo/Henri Huet)
Vietnam War Michelin Battle 1965
A Vietnamese litter bearer wears a face mask to keep out the smell as he passes the bodies of U.S. and Vietnamese soldiers killed in fighting against the Viet Cong at the Michelin rubber plantation, about 45 miles northeast of Saigon, Nov. 27, 1965. More than 100 bodies were recovered after a human wave assault by guerrillas. (AP Photo/Horst Faas)
VIETNAM WAR U.S. MEMORIAL 1965
U.S. soldiers hold a memorial service for seven men of the U.S. 101st Airborne Brigade in a clearing near a former French rubber plantation in Lai Khe, Vietnam, Dec. 17, 1965. Their boots, helmets and M16 rifles are set up with a field altar. The seven paratroopers were killed in action during a search-and-destroy mission against the Viet Cong in the jungles and plantation areas of Lai Khe, about 40 miles north of Saigon, during the Vietnam War. (AP Photo/Henri Huet)
Hope Baker USS Ticonderoga 1965
Actress Carroll Baker snaps her fingers at sailors cheering from bridge of aircraft carrier USS Ticonderoga as Bob Hope leads her across stage set up on flight deck. More than 2,500 sailors saw the Hope troupe's show on the carrier off the coast of Vietnam December 27, 1965. (AP Photo)
Vietnam War Civilians 1966
Women and children crouch in a muddy canal as they take cover from intense Viet Cong fire at Bao Trai, about 20 miles west of Saigon, Jan. 1, 1966. Paratroopers, background, of the U.S. 173rd Airborne Brigade escorted the South Vietnamese civilians through a series of firefights during the U.S. assault on a Viet Cong stronghold. (AP Photo/Horst Faas)
NAPALM STRIKE 1966
A napalm strike erupts in a fireball near U.S. troops on patrol in South Vietnam, 1966 during the Vietnam War. (AP Photo)
VIETNAM WAR U.S. HELICOPTERS GAS 1966
U.S. Army helicopters providing support for U.S. ground troops fly into a staging area fifty miles northeast of Saigon, Vietnam, August 28, 1966. Helicopter fuel is stored in the large rubber tanks, foreground. (AP Photo/Henri Huet)
VIETNAM WAR EVACUATION REFUGEE 1967
A Vietnamese woman carries her two children and household goods in two baskets attached to a stick she holds over her shoulder as she travels barefoot during evacuation from Ben Suc, Vietnam, June 1967 during the Vietnam War. A third child walks in front carrying pots and pans. They are among 10,000 Vietnamese villagers evacuated from areas on the fringe of the Iron Triangle, Viet Cong stonghold, and will be resettled in refugee settlements. (AP Photo/Henri Huet)
Vietnam War Religion 1967
A chaplain gives communion to U.S. soldiers of the 1st Infantry Division, standing in a trench during services at Bu Dop, Tuesday evening, Dec. 5, 1967. The area was under constant threat of mortar and rocket attack, so services were held in the trench for protection from incoming rounds. (AP Photo/Horst Faas)
Nguyen Van Lem; Bay Lop 1968
** EDS NOTE: GRAPHIC CONTENT ** South Vietnamese Gen. Nguyen Ngoc Loan, chief of the National Police, fires his pistol into the head of suspected Viet Cong officer Nguyen Van Lem (also known as Bay Lop) on a Saigon street Feb. 1, 1968, early in the Tet Offensive. (AP Photo/Eddie Adams)
VIETNAM SUBMERGED GUNNER 1968
A 6-foot-5-inch machine gunner with the U.S. 9th. Infantry Division is completely submerged except for his rifle as he crosses a muddy stream on the Mekong Delta south of Saigon, Sept. 10, 1968. (AP Photo/Henri Huet)
South Vietnamese woman 1969
FILE - In this April 1969 file photo shot by Associated Press photographer Horst Faas, a South Vietnamese woman mourns over the body of her husband, found with 47 others in a mass grave near Hue, Vietnam. (AP Photo/Horst Faas, File)
Vietnamese AF Skyraider bombers 1972
Bombs with a mixture of napalm and white phosphorus jelly dropped by Vietnamese AF Skyraider bombers explode across Route-1, amidst homes and in front of the Cao Dai temple in the outskirts of Trang Bang, June 8, 1972. In the foreground are Vietnamese soldiers and news and cameramen from various international news organizations who watch the scene. The towers of the Trang Bang Cao Dai temple are visible in the centre of the explosions. (AP Photo / Nick Ut)
Vietnam Napalm 1972
South Vietnamese forces follow after terrified children, including 9-year-old Kim Phuc, center, as they run down Route 1 near Trang Bang after an aerial napalm attack on suspected Viet Cong hiding places on June 8, 1972. A South Vietnamese plane accidentally dropped its flaming napalm on South Vietnamese troops and civilians. The terrified girl had ripped off her burning clothes while fleeing. The children from left to right are: Phan Thanh Tam, younger brother of Kim Phuc, who lost an eye, Phan Thanh Phouc, youngest brother of Kim Phuc, Kim Phuc, and Kim's cousins Ho Van Bon, and Ho Thi Ting. Behind them are soldiers of the Vietnam Army 25th Division. (AP Photo/Nick Ut)
Vietnam Napalm 1972
Anguished Vietnamese woman carries her napalm burned child down route one, moments after a misplaced napalm bomb strike injured and killed a score civilians and soldiers. Vietnamese troops were fighting two battalions of North Vietnamese troops on route one at the outskirts of Trang Bang, 25 miles NW of Saigon, South Vietnam on June 8, 1972. (AP Phot/Nick Ut )
VIETNAM NAPALM GIRL 1972
Nine-year-old Phan Tai Kim Phuc is comforted by her mother in a Saigon hospital June 10, 1972, two days after she was severely burned during a misplaced napalm attack on her village. (AP Photo/Robinson)
VIETNAM ORPHAN U.S. AID 1973
Tran Thie Het Nhanny lies in a cardboard box next to her brother, who begged on the streets of Saigon, Vietnam, in 1973. When the photo was distributed in Feb. 1973, it inspired Americans to raise money to bring the baby to the U.S. to undergo surgery to correct a congenital heart defect. The project was sponsored by Vietnamese-American Children's Fund. A couple in Houston, Texas, cared for the baby and in 1976 was involved in proceedings to adopt the healthy 4-year-old girl. (AP Photo/Chick Harrity)
Vietnam War US POWs 1973
U.S. prisoners of war stand in the yard at Hanoi’s Nga Tu So prison during an inspection visit by international observers and invited Western journalists, March 1973. The prison, surrounded by a high brick wall topped with barbed wire, had been a government building before the war. Each cell housed about a dozen POWs, and beds consisted of wooden platforms with mats. (AP Photo/Horst Faas)
VIETNAM RELEASED POW 1973
Released prisoner of war Lt. Col. Robert L. Stirm is greeted by his family at Travis Air Force Base in Fairfield, Calif., as he returns home from the Vietnam War, March 17, 1973. In the lead is Stirm's daughter Lori, 15; followed by son Robert, 14; daughter Cynthia, 11; wife Loretta and son Roger, 12. (AP Photo/Sal Veder)
The belated recognition came after the recommendation for his medal was lost, resubmitted — and then lost again.