''The Ultimate Confrontation: The Flower and the Bayonet'' is a photograph of Jan Rose Kasmir (born in 1950), at that time an

American American(s) may refer to: * American, something of, from, or related to the United States of America, commonly known as the "United States" or "America" ** Americans, citizens and nationals of the United States of America ** American ancestry, pe ...

high-school student. This iconic photograph was taken by French photographer

Marc Riboud Marc Riboud (; 24 June 1923 – 30 August 2016) was a French photographer, best known for his extensive reports on the Far East: ''The Three Banners of China'', ''Face of North Vietnam'', ''Visions of China'', and ''In China''. Early life and e ...

. Riboud photographed Kasmir on 21 October 1967 while taking part with over 100,000 anti-war activists in the

National Mobilization Committee to End the War in Vietnam The Spring Mobilization Committee to End the War in Vietnam, which became the National Mobilization Committee to End the War in Vietnam, was a coalition of American antiwar activists formed in November 1966 to organize large demonstrations in o ...

's March on

the Pentagon The Pentagon is the headquarters building of the United States Department of Defense. It was constructed on an accelerated schedule during World War II. As a symbol of the U.S. military, the phrase ''The Pentagon'' is often used as a metony ...

to protest U.S. involvement in Vietnam. Seventeen-year-old Kasmir was shown clasping a

chrysanthemum Chrysanthemums (), sometimes called mums or chrysanths, are flowering plants of the genus ''Chrysanthemum'' in the family Asteraceae. They are native to East Asia and northeastern Europe. Most species originate from East Asia and the center ...

and gazing at

bayonet A bayonet (from French ) is a knife, dagger, sword, or spike-shaped weapon designed to fit on the end of the muzzle of a rifle, musket or similar firearm, allowing it to be used as a spear-like weapon.Brayley, Martin, ''Bayonets: An Illustr ...

-wielding soldiers. The photo was featured in the December 30, 1969 special edition of '' Look'' magazine under the title ''The Ultimate Confrontation: The Flower and the Bayonet''.Jan Rose Kasmir. "The Ultimate Confrontation: The Flower and the Bayonet."
''www.sixtiessurvivors.com.'' Retrieved June 27, 2016. The photo was republished world-wide and became a symbol of the

flower power Flower power was a slogan used during the late 1960s and early 1970s as a symbol of passive resistance and nonviolence. It is rooted in the opposition movement to the Vietnam War. The expression was coined by the American Beat poet Allen Ginsber ...

movement. ''

Smithsonian Magazine ''Smithsonian'' is the official journal published by the Smithsonian Institution in Washington, D.C. The first issue was published in 1970. History The history of ''Smithsonian'' began when Edward K. Thompson, the retired editor of ''Life'' maga ...

'' later called it "a gauzy juxtaposition of armed force and

flower child Flower child originated as a synonym for hippie, especially among the idealistic young people who gathered in San Francisco and the surrounding area during the Summer of Love in 1967. It was the custom of "flower children" to wear and distribute ...

innocence". Kasmir graduated in 1986 from the

New York College of Health Professions The New York College of Health Professions is a private college focused on healthcare with its main campus in Muttontown, New York. History The New York College of Health Professions was chartered in 1984 at Muttontown (the portion of the village ...

Manhasset, New York Manhasset is a Hamlet (New York), hamlet and census-designated place (CDP) in Nassau County, New York, Nassau County, on the North Shore (Long Island), North Shore of Long Island, in New York (state), New York. It is considered the anchor communi ...

as a

massage therapist Massage is the manipulation of the body's soft tissues. Massage techniques are commonly applied with hands, fingers, elbows, knees, forearms, feet or a device. The purpose of massage is generally for the treatment of body stress or pain. In Eu ...

, and worked in

Hilton Head Island, South Carolina Hilton Head Island, sometimes referred to as simply Hilton Head, is a South Carolina Lowcountry, Lowcountry resort town and barrier island in Beaufort County, South Carolina, United States. It is northeast of Savannah, Georgia, and southwest of C ...

until 1991. She then moved to

Aarhus, Denmark Aarhus (, , ; officially spelled Århus from 1948 until 1 January 2011) is the second-largest city in Denmark and the seat of Aarhus municipality, Aarhus Municipality. It is located on the eastern shore of Jutland in the Kattegat sea and app ...

, with her

Danish Danish may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to the country of Denmark People * A national or citizen of Denmark, also called a "Dane," see Demographics of Denmark * Culture of Denmark * Danish people or Danes, people with a Danish a ...

husband and their daughter. She returned with her daughter to the United States in 2002, and resumed living on Hilton Head Island, South Carolina. In February 2003, Riboud again photographed Kasmir protesting against the

Iraq War {{Infobox military conflict , conflict = Iraq War {{Nobold, {{lang, ar, حرب العراق (Arabic) {{Nobold, {{lang, ku, شەڕی عێراق (Kurdish languages, Kurdish) , partof = the Iraq conflict (2003–present), I ...

where she carried a poster-size copy of the 1967 photograph. In 2010, Kasmir was invited by the Spanish organization Avalon Project Peace NGO to speak during activities for International Peace Day in

Seville, Spain Seville (; es, Sevilla, ) is the capital and largest city of the Spanish autonomous community of Andalusia and the province of Seville. It is situated on the lower reaches of the River Guadalquivir, in the southwest of the Iberian Peninsula ...

. In January 2017, she joined the

Women's March Women's March may refer to: * Women's March on Versailles, a 1789 march in Paris * Women's Sunday, a 1908 suffragette march in London * Woman Suffrage Procession, a 1913 march and rally in Washington, D.C. * Women's March (South Africa), a 1956 mar ...

in Washington, D.C.

References

External links

Kasmir Photo
by Marc Riboud, October 1967
Kasmir Interview
by El Proyecto Avalon * {{DEFAULTSORT:Ultimate Confrontation Black-and-white photographs Photographs of the United States Vietnam War and the media 1967 in Virginia 1967 photographs 1967 in art Photographs of protests

See also

References

External links