Perhaps you’ve seen the now-famous Vietnam War picture of Kim Phuc, the young, naked girl, running in terror from her village, hoping to escape the horror of napalm that was burning her skin. The man in the plane was John Plummer. Assured that no civilians lived in the village, he had ordered the attack.

John Plummer was an American who, in the heat of wartime, almost killed her. She was Vietnamese, and when the napalm started to fall from his plane, she ran for her life.

According to a story in the Minnesota Christian Chronicle, Kim Phuc was invited to Washington in 1996 to speak at the Vietnam Veterans Memorial. As she spoke, she said she would forgive the pilot if they were to meet.

Incredibly, John Plummer was in the audience. He had heard that Kim would be there, so be came to hear her speak. After the ceremony, the two met. Plummer repeated, “I’m sorry, I’m sorry.” Kim replied, “It’s all right. I forgive.”

“Even as Christ forgave you, so you also must do” (Colossians 3:13).