I’d seen the picture before. Everyone’s seen the picture. A sobbing naked girl runs toward the camera, a wall of fire and smoke behind her. And until today I thought she was merely terrified. Not also horribly burned by the napalm inferno she’s running from.
She’s still alive. She lives in Canada. She has a newborn son. She founded a charity that helps child victims of war.
And she still has the scars.
When I look at that news photo from 40 years ago now, through a father’s eyes… I don’t know how to put it down into words. I can’t even bring myself to re-post that picture here. My mind freezes up and starts circling, unable to process the pain of that moment, unable to set it aside.