Little Guerrilla - The Story Behind the Photo

"Little Guerrilla" is a vertical black and white photograph by journalist Phan Thoan (former reporter).Ha Tinh Newspaper). The photo depicts a female militiaman wearing a pith helmet, holding a gun in both hands, escorting an American pilot who is much larger than her. The two walk away, the pilot handcuffed, his head bowed.

The photo resonated and was considered a source of encouragement for the army and people of the North to fight against the destructive war of the US air force. In 1966, the photolittle guerilladisplayed in the national photo exhibition. After viewing, poet To Huu wrote four verses:

"The little guerrilla raised his gun high
The American guy walked with his head bowed.
So that's it! Bigger guts than big belly
Heroes are not always men!

Photo work Little Guerrilla by journalist Phan Thoan.

The two characters in the photo are female guerrilla Nguyen Thi Kim Lai (17 years old at that time, residing in Phu Phong commune, Huong Khe, Ha Tinh) and American pilot William Andrew Robinson (22 years old).

In 1967, the photo was featured on a Vietnam Post stamp to mark the 2,000th American plane shot down in the North. The stamp was sent to 167 countries, including the United States.

Memories of the morning of capturing the American pilot

Former guerrilla fighter Nguyen Thi Kim Lai is now 70 years old, living with her children and grandchildren in a ground-level house in an alley on Xuan Dieu Street, Bac Ha Ward (Ha Tinh City). She is the youngest of four siblings in Phu Phong Commune (Huong Khe),In 1965, when she finished 7th grade, the American invaders attacked the North. Young Lai joined the commune's militia and self-defense team, participating in combat and digging tunnels.

"Everyone carried a backpack, a stick, and no one was bothered by the hardship," she recalled.At that time, Ha Tinh was continuously bombed by American planes, roaring day and night, many vital roads passing through here were cut off, and villages were destroyed.yes

Ms. Nguyen Thi Kim Lai next to a photo of herself taken 53 years ago. Photo:Duc Hung

On the morning of September 20, 1965, dozens of American planes dropped bombs on a bridge in Loc Yen commune. One was hit by bullets and caught fire. The pilot parachuted down to Huong Khe mountain. Receiving a rescue signal, three American helicopters came to support, but one was shot down by Ha Tinh soldiers and civilians and caught fire. The three pilots continued to parachute down the mountain.

Mrs. Lai said that at 9:00 a.m. the next day, while searching for the American pilot with the militia in the forest of Huong Tra commune, she heard a noise in a rock crevice a few meters away. As she approached, she saw a pilot sitting huddled, looking scared. After three shots into the air from the female guerrilla, he raised his hands in surrender.

Hearing the gunshots, people ran to restrain and tie the pilot's hands. A few days later, the remaining pilots were also arrested.

"At that time, I was 1.5m tall and weighed 37kg. William Andrew Robinson was 2.2m tall and weighed 120kg. I was the first to discover him and was also the smallest in the squad, so everyone let me hold the gun and escort the American pilot back to the district. On the way back, journalist Phan Thoan took a photo of this moment," Ms. Lai recalled.

"Famous" thanks to postage stamps

The stamp "The little guerrilla raises his gun high". Photo:Documents

After the event of capturing the American pilot, Mrs. Lai was transferred to fight in Quang Tri. In 1968, during a break, her brother who was fighting with her showed her a stamp. Recognizing that the guerrilla in the stamp was herself, Mrs. Lai exclaimed, "This photo is of me. Don't tell me, they'll laugh" and kept it as a souvenir.

In interviews with the media, journalist Phan Thoan said that at that time he was a war correspondent, assigned to closely follow the area of ​​Huong Khe district. When he received news that the militia had captured an American pilot, he cycled more than 10km to take the above photo. The photo was later published in many domestic and international newspapers.

The day the photo was published, Mrs. Lai became famous. Many working groups came to the place where she was serving in the war to talk and interview her for documents. Some foreign journalists, unable to find Mrs. Lai, thought the photo was staged. Later, when an international station made a film about her, they believed it.

The life story of two characters in the photo

After a long time in the military, Ms. Lai went to study nursing, and in 1977 she returned to work at the Ha Tinh Oriental Medicine Institute, got married, and had two daughters and a son. Pilot William Andrew Robinson was taken prisoner and held for 2,703 days, and was returned to his country in December 1973.

The former female guerrilla said that in 1995, through the photo, the late director Le Manh Thich of the Central Documentary and Scientific Film Studio came to see her and asked her to cooperate in making the film "The Reunion After 30 Years", sponsored by NHK (Japan). The film would have a scene where she and Robinson met again. Ms. Lai accepted.

A few months after filming, one morning in September 1995, while holding her grandchild and playing at a neighbor's house, she heard a voice calling: "Mrs. Lai, come back, a foreigner has come to visit". She hurriedly went back, saw a tall man standing at the gate, after a moment of composure, she exclaimed: "Mr. Andrew Robinson".

After hugging each other in celebration, both Mrs. Lai and Robinson shared that from the moment they met in 1965, they thought they would never meet again. In their first greeting, Robinson smiled and said: "You haven't grown much since then." Mrs. Lai replied: "Hey, you're still as young and healthy as ever."

Mrs. Lai confided to Robinson that since she became "involuntarily famous," her life has changed somewhat. The day her husband secretly fell in love with her, after they got married, he often said, "I tried to flirt with her, but I didn't think she would agree, because she was too famous and afraid she wouldn't like me." The two lived happily, their children grew up, and they had stable jobs. In 2008, Mrs. Lai's husband passed away.

Robinson said that the time he was captured in Vietnam was very difficult, there were so many things he could not remember. However, the moment he was transferred to a small village in Huong Khe, people kindly gave him food and drinks, which made him very touched.

"I was so lucky. If that day, one of the two of you had pointed a gun at the other side, you and I would not have today," Mr. Robinson told Ms. Lai during their meeting 23 years ago.

Ms. Lai and Robison took a souvenir photo during their reunion 23 years ago. Photo:Duc Hung took a photo.

Seeing Mrs. Lai introduce her happy family, Robinson felt a little sad. Because his first wife died of cancer, Robinson married a second wife. In both marriages, he had no children. He treated his second wife's two daughters as his own.

"When he returned to the US, Robinson had been unemployed for six years and lived in a veterans' housing complex. He worked as an auto mechanic and his wife had to live frugally to raise their children. Next to his tall figure were deep eyes and a sad face," said Ms. Lai.

The last time they parted 23 years ago, Mrs. Lai gave Robinson's wife a hat as a souvenir, telling her that if they were destined to meet again in Vietnam. Now Mrs. Lai is in her seventies, but she still wants to see the American soldier from back then, to see how old he is, and how his life has changed.

"When talking about the suffering and loss of war, Robinson said:Let's pray that this photo doesn't happen again., I replied:Me too, I don't want to see bombs and bullets, my family has to be separated., Mrs. Lai recalls the final moment of conversation with Robinson.