I wished I died in that attack with my cousin, with my south Vietnamese soldiers. I wish I died at that time so I won't suffer like that anymore... it was so hard for me to carry all that burden with that hatred, with that anger and bitterness.

Phan Thi Kim Phuc

My dream is that one day, all people will live without fear, in real peace, with no fighting and no hostility.

Phan Thi Kim Phuc

For years I bore the crippling weight of anger, bitterness and resentment toward those who caused my suffering. Yet as I look back over a spiritual journey that has spanned more than three decades, I realize the same bombs that caused so much pain and suffering also brought me to a place of great healing. Those bombs led me to Jesus Christ.

Phan Thi Kim Phuc

When I meet children and people who suffer, when they mention any kind of pain, emotional pain, physical pain, I know what they need, because it's the same thing I need. They need healing, they need peace, they need joy, they need hope.

Phan Thi Kim Phuc

Having known war I know the value of peace. Having lived under government control I know the value of freedom. Having lived with hatred, terror and corruption I know the value of faith and forgiveness.

Phan Thi Kim Phuc

Behind that picture of me, thousands and thousands of people, they suffered - more than me. They died. They lost parts of their bodies. Their whole lives were destroyed, and nobody took that picture.

Phan Thi Kim Phuc

If I ever see those pilots who dropped the bombs on me - or any American pilots - I would say to them, 'The war is over. The past is past.' I would ask those pilots what can they do to bring us all together.

Phan Thi Kim Phuc

Sometimes I could not breathe, but God saved my life and gave me faith and hope.

Phan Thi Kim Phuc

In 1974, I cried all day long. I kept putting my well arm next to my left one, which could not move. My mother kept saying, 'Don't be sad. If you cry, I will cry and then we will all be twice as sad.'

Phan Thi Kim Phuc

I remember June 8, 1972. I saw the airplane. And it's so loud, so close to me. Suddenly, the fire everywhere around me. The fire burned off my clothes. And I saw my arm got burned with the fire. I thought, oh, my goodness, I get burned. People will see me different way.

Phan Thi Kim Phuc

I really want to say, 'Thank God I'm alive.' I want to forgive the people who caused my suffering. I did.

Phan Thi Kim Phuc

I was as alone as a person can be. I could not turn to a friend, for nobody wished to befriend me. I was toxic, and everyone knew it. To be near me was to be near hardship. Wise people stayed far away. I was alone, atop a mountain of rage. Why was I made to wear these awful scars?

Phan Thi Kim Phuc

People ask me a lot, 'How can you smile all the time?' I tell them, 'I was never angry. God created me this way. He created me laughing and smiling.'

Phan Thi Kim Phuc

Those bombs have brought me immeasurable pain. Even now, some 40 years later, I am still receiving treatment for burns that cover my arms, back, and neck. The emotional and spiritual pain was even harder to endure.

Phan Thi Kim Phuc

I have suffered a lot from both physical and emotional pain.

Phan Thi Kim Phuc

When those four bombs fell, I was in the middle and I should have died.

Phan Thi Kim Phuc

My character is not sad, not angry. In my house, I'm always laughing, smiling, smiling.

Phan Thi Kim Phuc

I saw the bombs, and, like a kid, I looked back at them. Instantly there was fire everywhere.

Phan Thi Kim Phuc

Every movement of mine was under the control of the Vietnamese government, a communist country. I was just a prisoner without walls.

Phan Thi Kim Phuc

My name is Kim Phuc, though you likely know me by another name. It is one I never asked for, a name I have spent a lifetime trying to escape: 'Napalm Girl.'

Phan Thi Kim Phuc

Yet I was ready for love and joy. I wanted to let go of my pain. I wanted to pursue life instead of holding fast to fantasies of death.

Phan Thi Kim Phuc