Why lie, Mr. Scruggs?
In cooperation with the Canadian documentary crew that had Kim Phuc under
contract, Jan Scruggs prepared the news media and the nation for the hijacking
of the history of the famous photo by having an outrageously false report appear
under his byline in USA Today on November 11, 1996. In so doing, he set
the stage for the dramatic and "spontaneous" meeting with the American
who had arranged with the documentary crew to claim to have ordered the
attack. Scruggs repeated some of the lies for the cameras during his
introduction of Kim Phuc at the Vietnam Veterans Memorial.
Scruggs' report is printed in its entirety below this portion with the
inaccuracies noted:
Vietnam and Veterans Day: A child of war forgives
By Jan Scruggs
Opinion USA - USA Today 11/11/96
Scruggs' Lie number 1, and a less significant error:
"In 1972, Kim Phuc had sought refuge at a Buddhist pagoda as a
massive battle raged at her village."
Fact: The fighting around Trang Bang in June of 1972 was a footnote
of war during the actually massive battles about 100 kilometers away, around An
Loc. A small scale Communist attack was being repulsed around Trang Bang,
with the fighting considered to be insignificant enough that American advisors
did not even participate.
Fact: The pagoda was of the Cao Dai faith.
Scruggs' Lie number 2 and a less significant error:
"A napalm attack was ordered when it appeared that enemy troops
had taken over the temple. South Vietnamese Skyhawk bombers
struck."
Fact: The pagoda was not taken over by the Communists, nor did it
ever appear to have been.
Fact: The pagoda was not ordered attacked, it was not targeted, and
it was not attacked. The false insertion of attacking a religious
structure is a dramatic embellishment apparently designed to make the incident
appear to have been an atrocity instead of the simple but tragic accident it was.
Fact: Kim herself admits that she was not bombed in the pagoda.
Fact: Kim and the South Vietnamese soldiers were hit after they were
away from the pagoda, when a Vietnamese pilot simply missed his clearly marked
target.
Fact: The Vietnamese did not operate "Skyhawk bombers",
which are jet powered carrier-based Navy and Marine attack aircraft. The
South Vietnamese aircraft that accidentally burned Kim and killed several South
Vietnamese soldiers was a propeller-driven Skyraider.
Scruggs' Lie number 3:
"Two of Kim's brothers, ages 1 and 3, died instantly from the jellied
gasoline."
Fact: The children who died were not Kim's brothers, but
cousins. That is bad enough, but "brothers" allows more dramatic
impact. Scruggs ignores the South Vietnamese soldiers who were with the
civilians, and were killed.
A less significant error:
"Napalm is a fearsome weapon burning through the skin all the way
to the bone."
Fact: Napalm, a weapon developed by Great Britain, is, as Scruggs
stated, jellied gasoline. It burns like jellied gasoline, which is quite
bad enough, but he obviously wanted more dramatic impact. Which parts of
Kim's body were burned "all the way to the bone"? Under certain
circumstances, napalm can burn "all the way to the bone", just as a
cigarette lighter or a stove can.
Scruggs' Lie number 4:
"According to reports on the battle, the order to bomb the pagoda
was given by an American."
Fact: That is a complete fabrication, as Scruggs no doubt knew.
There were multiple reports published about the incident almost as soon as it
occurred in 1972, reports from such noted journalists as Peter Arnett,
Christopher Wain, and Fox Butterfield. But no report on the battle said
anything about the pagoda, because it was not bombed. More importantly, no
report said or even indicated that an American gave the order to bomb anything
at Trang Bang. On the contrary, in 1972, Americans were very much aware of
the "Vietnamization" of the war. There were not even any
American advisors at the fighting at Trang Bang when Kim was burned. In
fact, Kim was burned in an all-Vietnamese accident of war, only nine months
before the last American combat soldier left Vietnam. This is just another
lie inserted by Scruggs to dramatize and prepare the introduction of the
already-scheduled "spontaneous" meeting with the new Methodist
minister who was to fraudulently insert himself into the story.
Follow the dollar, and the reasons for Scruggs' "lack of
accuracy" is clear.
Perhaps the real tragedy is that although Scruggs and others seeking fame
and our contributions credit Americans with the incident, the only Americans
involved in any way were the journalists who made Kim Phuc famous, and the
American doctors who saved Kim's life.
Vietnam and Veterans Day: A child of war forgives
By Jan Scruggs
Opinion USA - USA Today 11/11/96
Few know her name, but we all remember her haunting image. In 1972, Kim Phuc
had sought refuge at a Buddhist pagoda.....
NOTE: After taking the link and reading the original article, use your Browser's Key to access the following links.
Click Here for the Commentary "The Fraud Behind the Myth of the Girl in the Photo.