The Fire That Changed The War - June 11, 1963

About this episode

The episode discusses the self-immolation of Thich Quang Duc and its impact on the Vietnam War and American involvement.

On June 11, 1963, a sixty-seven-year-old Buddhist monk named Thich Quang Duc sat in the center of a Saigon intersection and set himself on fire. His photograph was on President Kennedy's desk the next morning and helped topple the South Vietnamese government. But the story most people have never heard is what happened the evening before, and why the image meant to end American involvement in Vietnam may have deepened it instead.

People in this episode

Host: Richard G Backus

Topics covered

• Vietnam War
• Buddhism
• protest
• self-immolation
• U.S. involvement
• historical events

Keywords

• Thich Quang Duc
• Vietnam War
• self-immolation
• Buddhist monk
• President Kennedy
• Saigon
• protest

Mentioned in this episode

Places: Vietnam, Saigon

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