A Fiery Cup

Vietnam's Napalm Girl & the Goodness of God

Kim Phuc Phan Thi was eight years old in 1972, number six in a line of eight siblings, and her childhood was everything a childhood should be. Carefree, abundant, alive. Although her village was seeing more "forest people" (her word for the tunnel-dwelling, Communist-backed Viet Cong rebels who came out at night), she did not bother herself with the adult goings-on of war. There were games to play, books to read, and a jungle of guava trees to climb. She was especially devoted to CaoDai, the religion of her family, and she poured all her heart into living up to its lofty ideals.

The CaoDai temple became an especially comforting refuge when the forest people turned her village into...