Edward Thomas Adams (June 12, 1933 – September 19, 2004) was an American photographer and photojournalist noted for portraits of celebrities and politicians and for coverage of 13 wars.

He is best known for his photograph of the execution of Nguyễn Văn Lém, a Viet Cong prisoner of war, for which he won the Pulitzer Prize for Spot News Photography in 1969.

Adams won the 1969 Pulitzer Prize for Spot News Photography[10] and a World Press Photo award[11] for the photograph.

Writer and critic David D. Perlmutter states that "no film footage did as much damage as AP photographer Eddie Adams's 35mm shot taken on a Saigon street ...

[15] However, Donald Winslow of The New York Times quoted Adams as having described the image as a "reflex picture" and "wasn't certain of what he'd photographed until the film was developed".

What the photograph didn't say was, "What would you do if you were the general at that time and place on that hot day, and you caught the so-called bad guy after he blew away one, two or three American people?". ...

"[17]Loan later relocated to the United States, and in 1978, there was an unsuccessful attempt to rescind his permanent residence status (green card).

"[19] He once said, "I would have rather been known more for the series of photographs I shot of 48 Vietnamese refugees who managed to sail to Thailand in a 30-foot boat, only to be towed back to the open seas by Thai marines."

The photographs, and accompanying reports, helped persuade then President Jimmy Carter to grant asylum to the nearly 200,000 Vietnamese boat people.

[20] He won the Robert Capa Gold Medal from the Overseas Press Club in 1977 for this series of photographs in his photo-essay, "Boat of No Smiles" (published by AP).