Eddie Adams first became famous for his portraits of celebrities and politicians, yet it was this photo — of a Vietnamese general executing a Viet Cong suspect in Saigon — that would have the biggest impact on his life. The photo earned him a Pulitzer Prize for Spot News Photography in 1969.
"You can see the gun, you can see the expression on the man's face as the bullet enters his head, and you see the soldier on the left who is wincing at the thing that has happened," Hal Buell, who led the Associated Press photo service for 23 years, told NPR. "With the still picture, you have time to consider all these factors."
Former AP and CNN correspondent Peter Arnett, who was with Adams in Vietnam, called the picture a "brilliant piece of photography. He had the courage to stand a foot or two away from a murderous officer who had his pistol out and shot the man in front of him."
During his lifetime, Adams won a total of 500 awards for his renowned photography, which covered 13 wars. The late photographer died in 2004, but his legacy still lives on. An intense four-day workshop for photographers, known as the Eddie Adams Workshop, is held each year in New York City.
Below, see a selection of Adams' Vietnam War photos, which completely changed the game for combat photography.
Editor's note: Many of the images in this slideshow depict graphic violence and injury, and many are upsetting. All captions are by AP.
SEE ALSO: 13 rare color photos that show a side of the Vietnam War you don't usually see
Bombs explode in the Cholon section of Saigon, during Mini-Tet offensive, May 1968.
Vietnamese soldiers capture a communist Viet Cong guerrilla hiding in high swamp grass during an operation 15 miles south of Da Nang in Quang Nam province in Vietnam on March 28, 1965. Five Viet Cong guerrillas were reported killed and 30 taken prisoner in the action.
South Vietnamese forces escort suspected Viet Cong officer Nguyen Van Lem (also known as Bay Lop) on a Saigon street Feb. 1, 1968, early in the Tet Offensive. Moments later, Lem was executed by Gen. Nguyen Ngoc Loan, chief of the national police.
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