History
From the Archives: Stripes Man on Scene in Saigon
Stars and Stripes
November 21, 2024
A Presidential Palace guard — wounded during the air attack on the palace — is carried into a jeep for transportation to a hospital. A second wounded man can be seen in the back seat. (Al Chang/Stars and Stripes)
One of the two AD-6 Skyraider fighter bomber — piloted by rebellious Republic of Vietnam Air Force pilots — can be seen swooping over the Presidential Palace in Saigon, South Vietnam. Republic of Vietnam President Ngo Dinh Diem — who was in the palace at the time of the bombing — escaped injury. (Al Chang/Stars and Stripes)
This article first appeared in the Stars and Stripes Pacific edition, Mar. 1, 1962. It is republished unedited in its original form.
When the Presidential Palace in Saigon was bombed Tuesday. Pacific Stars and Stripes Photographer M/Sgt. Al Chang was in the street near the palace preparing for a photographic assignment.
As the attacking planes swooped in, Chang started taking pictures. He ran toward the main entrance of the palace and a tank commander yelled, “Get the hell out of the area, we are in combat!”
“I know,” Chang shouted back, and kept on shooting pictures.