Phan Thi Kim Phuc

“I am not religious; I am not political.”

“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.”

“That little girl became me now. I have accepted it and I'm thankful that my picture worked for good.”

“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.”

“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.”

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

“The more I travel the more I see and know what people need. They need peace, they need joy and they need love.”

“In war time, nowhere is safe.”

“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.”

“I got burned by napalm, and I became a victim of war.”

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

“I want to be a doctor, to give treatment to other people.”

“You will remember me as a little child in another time, during another war, and involving another airplane.”

“I did not think that I could marry or have any children because of my burns. But now I have a wonderful husband, a lovely child and a happy family, thank God.”

“My parents gave me life, but the doctors gave me life again.”

“I want to give back all the love and care that I have received over the years from so many people.”

“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.”

“People can learn the tragedy of war from me.”

“I do not want to talk about the war, because I cannot change history.”

“I have my foundation, I help the children who are victims of war, and I talk about kids and I help people to understand how horrible war is and how beautiful the world can be if we can live with love, hope, and forgiveness.”