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226

Context is important. Have the stones to do what needs to be done.

Eddie Adams wasn’t trying to make a statement when he took the photo, which went on to win a Pulitzer. In fact, he resented how people interpreted it without knowing the full context. Most Americans had no idea who Nguyen Van Lem was or what he did.

South Vietnamese Police Chief Nguyen Ngoc Loan was Lem’s executioner and a friend of the colonel he had murdered. He later immigrated to the U.S. and faced deportation due to being accused of war crimes, but Eddie Adams always vouched for him and apologized for taking the photo.

https://pbs.twimg.com/media/FA71kbJUYAIhTlO?format=jpg&name=small

The sole survivor of the family Nguyen Van Lem murdered was Huan Nguyen, who was only nine at the time. He later immigrated to the U.S. and went on to become the highest ranked Vietnamese-American officer in the military when he was promoted to the rank of rear admiral in the US Navy.

Context is important. Have the stones to do what needs to be done. Eddie Adams wasn’t trying to make a statement when he took the photo, which went on to win a Pulitzer. In fact, he resented how people interpreted it without knowing the full context. Most Americans had no idea who Nguyen Van Lem was or what he did. South Vietnamese Police Chief Nguyen Ngoc Loan was Lem’s executioner and a friend of the colonel he had murdered. He later immigrated to the U.S. and faced deportation due to being accused of war crimes, but Eddie Adams always vouched for him and apologized for taking the photo. https://pbs.twimg.com/media/FA71kbJUYAIhTlO?format=jpg&name=small The sole survivor of the family Nguyen Van Lem murdered was Huan Nguyen, who was only nine at the time. He later immigrated to the U.S. and went on to become the highest ranked Vietnamese-American officer in the military when he was promoted to the rank of rear admiral in the US Navy.

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[–] • 0 pt

Probably 147 grains, so 9.5 or so.

[–] • 1 pt

I was referring to the "nine grams". It was a Russian slang term, referring to the approx. weight of the FMJ bullet from a 9x18mm Makarov pistol, that was often used to execute prisoners in the basement of the Lubyanka prison in Moscow, by shooting them once in the back of the neck, at the point where the spine meets the back of the skull. In order to obtain justice without lowering themselves to savagery.

[–] • 0 pt

I think I first encountered the term (in English) in Gulag Archipelago 40+ years ago. I was commenting that the S+W used probably fired a 147gr jacketed round (assuming he was following wartime rules) which equates to roughly 9.5g. Piece of shit deserved worse.

[–] • 0 pt (edited )

Not that it really matters, but: Although there are more powerful loadings available today for the .38 Special, the most common civilian standard loading available for it at that time was the 158 grain round-nosed lead, loaded to a muzzle velocity of about 940fps, delivering about 310ft lb.s of energy.

But considering that Chief Loan's main source for his ammo at that time would probably have been the US military, it was more likely he would have been using the M41 FMJ rounds, which loaded a 130gr. FMJ bullet and giving about 750fps from the standard 4-inch M10 revolver (Chief Loan's weapon was clearly a shorter 2" barreled "hammerless" model) and by 1961, was the standard issue round for US military forces personnel who were equipped with .38 Special caliber revolvers. https://www.smithandwessonforums.com/attachments/vintage38-5-jpg.53203/ https://www.smithandwessonforums.com/attachments/vintage38-4-jpg.53202/

As I said, not that it really matters. Either way Nguyen Van Lem hit the ground DRT. Shot placement, as always, remains the key factor.

By way of comparison, the Underwood 9x19mm ammo that I currently carry today fires a 124 grain Speer bonded hollow-point at about 1,300fps, rendering about 465ft lbs of energy.