Although pain from the burns persisted and anger over past injustices boiled inside her, Phan slowly learned to give everything over to God. She gradually forgave the people who had made her life miserable: the soldiers who dropped the napalm bomb, the friends who shunned her, the government handlers, and so on. As she prayed for each person, her heart began to change.
With the snap of a camera, a photojournalist immortalized the most agonizing moment of Kim Phuc Phan Thi’s life: The 9-year-old girl was running from air raids on the Vietnamese village of Trang Bang, naked, arms spread, screaming in pain from the napalm burning her neck, back, and arms.
The photo, which won a Pulitzer Prize, encapsulated the horrors of the Vietnam War and the high price paid by children caught in the crossfire. For Phan, now 55, it was a decisive turning point in her life, taking her down a winding road that eventually led to spiritual restoration. She documents this journey in her recent memoir Fire Road: The Napalm Girl’s Journey Through the Horrors of War to Faith, Forgiveness & Peace. The bombs that nearly killed her, Phan now says, ultimately led her to hope and joy in Jesus Christ.
After a 14-month hospital stay and 16 surgeries to deal with her severe burns, Phan left the hospital and faced a new reality: a war-torn home and constant physical pain. She tried finding solace in the Cao Dai religion, whose adherents worship the gods of every religion, and she was determined to one day become a doctor to help others. But after the war ended, Vietnamese officials decided to use “the girl in the picture” as a propaganda tool to demonize Americans and prop up the new Communist government. With handlers constantly pulling Phan out of her college classes for staged press conferences, the school finally kicked out Phan due to low attendance.
Phan was angry. The government had taken away her one dream in life, and no matter how much she prayed, the gods didn’t seem to hear her. She contemplated jumping out in front of traffic. “Why was I was still suffering?” Phan recalled wondering. “I didn’t have any peace or joy, I still struggled. My heart was so empty.” She concluded there must be no god.
Subscribe to Free “Top 10 Stories” Email
Get the top 10 stories from The Aquila Report in your inbox every Tuesday morning.