Phan Thi Kim Phuc, known as the “Napalm Girl,” received her final burn treatment in June 2022, after 50 years. In 1972, she was photographed while fleeing naked and screaming in agony after a napalm attack during the Vietnam War, an image that became a symbol of the horrors of that war.

Life after the war for Kim Phuc

The iconic photo was captured by photographer Nick Ut in June 1972. Ut took her in search of medical treatment after the attack on her village with napalm. Following the incident, Kim Phuc spent over a year in the hospital recovering from her injuries and has lived with continuous pain and mobility limitations ever since.

Last year, Phuc underwent her twelfth and final laser treatment session at the Miami Dermatology and Laser Institute, as reported by NBC 6 South Florida. During her stay in Miami, she also reunited with Nick Ut, whom she credits with saving her life. Ut received the Pulitzer Prize for the iconic image when he was 21.

At 60 years old, Phuc expressed her wish that everyone can “live with love, hope, and forgiveness, and if everyone can learn to live this way, we don’t need war at all.”

A testament to the world

She has shared her feelings about the photograph, describing how she felt ugly and ashamed to have been photographed naked at that moment. The image captured the moment when she had been forced to tear off her flaming clothes while fleeing the attack.

In the years following the attack, Phuc battled with severe mental trauma and unbearable physical pain, at times feeling a desire to end her life. In the 1990s, she moved to Canada and founded the Kim Foundation International, an organization that provides medical assistance and psychological support to children affected by war.

In a recent interview with CBC, Phuc shared her perspective, stating: “I am no longer a victim of war. I am a survivor. I feel that 50 years ago, I was a war victim, but 50 years later, I am a friend, a helper, a mother, a grandmother, and a survivor, advocating for peace.”

Kim Phuc expressed her desire to close this tragic chapter of her life and advocate for peace. A poignant reminder of the devastating consequences that war can inflict on individuals and the communities in which they occur.