By Peter Pae and Maria Glod Washington Post Staff Writers Friday, December 19, 1997; Page C05
	At a Veterans Day ceremony last year, the Rev. John Plummer finally met Phan Thi Kim Phuc, who was photographed in 1972 running naked down a road in South Vietnam screaming from the burns of a napalm attack. It was an emotional moment for Plummer, a Loudoun County minister who would later recount in dozens of speeches and interviews how he, as an Army captain, had ordered the air strike that led to one of the most poignant images of the Vietnam War and how, in the end, he reconciled with the victim of his deed. But Plummer's story of a man coming to terms with his past is now at the center of controversy, with some Vietnam veterans accusing him of mischaracterizing his role in the bombing. Perhaps worse, they complain, Plummer's story has created a false impression that Americans were to blame. "He did not direct that Vietnamese aircraft in that attack," said retired Maj. Gen. Niles J. Fulwyler, who in June 1972 was a colonel and Plummer's superior. In addition to contending that Plummer didn't have authority to "order" a bombing, Fulwyler joins other veterans in saying that the minister's repeated, public blame-taking has the effect of smearing the U.S. military. "The thing that bothers me," Fulwyler said, "is he is laying the blame for this very emotional incident on the U.S. That is not true. I think that is somewhat irresponsible." Plummer, pastor of Bethany United Methodist Church in Purcellville, is adamant that he never tried to mislead people. He said he coordinated the attack, although he acknowledges that his saying -- on ABC's "Nightline" and in other interviews -- that he "ordered" it may have left the wrong impression. "No, I didn't order the air strike in the military sense," Plummer said at his church yesterday. "I set into motion events that eventuated into an air strike. But I didn't need clearance from Fulwyler or anybody else to provide air support, so in the general sense I did order the air strike." On June 8, 1972, Plummer says, he received a call from an American military adviser working with a South Vietnamese army unit, who requested an air strike on the village of Trang Bang. Plummer said he asked -- twice -- whether civilians were there, and was told by the adviser they'd been evacuated. Then, as he says he did many times, he relayed the request for a strike to U.S. Air Force personnel, who asked the South Vietnamese air force to launch it. Days later, in the newspaper Stars & Stripes, he saw the now-famous photo. "The moment I saw the picture and read the caption, I knew without a shadow of a doubt that was the air strike I had ordered," Plummer was quoted as saying in a Washington Post story this year. To bolster his point, Plummer provided a copy of a Bronze Star citation, the authenticity of which was confirmed by U.S. Army officials, which details his responsibilities during that time. It notes that Plummer "assisted in the coordination of pre-planned and immediate tactical air strikes in the Military Region 3," which included Trang Bang. The citation adds that he helped coordinate 60 South Vietnamese air force air strikes between April 12 and June 16. In 1996, Plummer learned Kim Phuc would speak at the Vietnam Veterans Memorial. He sent word he wanted to meet her, according to Kim Phuc and Plummer. After the ceremony, in which Kim Phuc said she'd forgive the pilot who dropped the napalm, the two met for two hours at a Washington hotel. Plummer said he detailed his role in the attack and asked for forgiveness. Later, they agreed to go public with the story of the meeting. Since then the encounter has become part of Plummer's ministry. He says he has told his story to some 30 veteran, civic and religious groups, and to reporters. He has said he "ordered" the strike, but has been consistent in the details he gave of his participation. Soon after the first article on Plummer appeared, veterans began sharply criticizing him, first in an Internet discussion group for helicopter pilots that included Plummer. He was challenged over whether he had the authority to order an air strike, and some accused him of being an opportunist, exaggerating his role to further his ministry. One reason the criticism has been sharp, some veterans say, is that Vietnam veterans react strongly to negative portrayals of America's war involvement. "We left the war and came home as baby killers and second-class citizens," said Mel Cannon, who was a helicopter pilot in Vietnam from 1967 to 1970 and created the Internet group. "In our autumn years, we want to find some accomplishments and pride in what we did, and anything that questions that, we are ready to take issue with." Plummer vehemently denies he has used the napalm attack to call attention to himself and his ministry. "When I met Kim, there was no ulterior motive at all. I had no idea I would be giving speeches and doing what I'm doing now," Plummer said. "But when I met Kim and when it lifted my life, I realized that people needed to hear the story, and that's how this all began." Military historians say it's probably impossible to know for sure how big a role Plummer played in the attack. "I got the feeling he was putting a lot of guilt on his shoulders when he may have just been a cog in a wheel," said Dale Andrade, an Army historian with the Center for Army and Military History. So far, Kim Phuc has tried to remain outside the debate, saying only that she supports Plummer in his message of reconciliation. "Whether or not he played a major role or a minor role, the point is I forgive him," said Kim Phuc, 34, who now lives in Toronto. © Copyright 1997 The Washington Post Company