Ly Tong
Lê Văn Tống | |
---|---|
Republic of Vietnam Air Force | |
Years of service | 1965-1975 |
Unit | "Black Eagle" Fighter Squadron No. 548 Squadron |
Battles/wars | Vietnam War |
Lê Văn Tống (September 1, 1945[1] – April 5, 2019), known as Lý Tống, was a Vietnamese American aviator and anti-communist activist.[2]
Early life
Ly Tong was born on September 1, 1945[1][3] to a family of 9 brothers. His father was a farmer who was killed during the First Indochina war when Ly Tong was 2 years old.[3] Ly Tong's brother Le Van Quy joined the CPV in 1949, and in 1984 worked as an assistant professor and served as the head of the Faculty of Literature at the Ho Chi Minh City University of Social Sciences and Humanities.[4][irrelevant citation]
In the early years of his life, he studied at An Cựu Primary School in South Vietnam, and then transferred to Nguyen Tri Phuong High School. In 1962, Ly Tong finished middle school, and in 1963 he studied at Huế National School.
Military career
In 1965, at the age of 19, he joined the
In early 1973, Ly Tong was transferred to the 548 Squadron in
Prisoner and subsequent escape
In April 1975, while flying an attack mission against
After being captured, he was held in a
In 1984, Ly was granted asylum in the United States and received a letter from then-President Ronald Reagan commending him for his struggle to attain freedom from captivity in Vietnam.[5] He earned a master's degree in political science at the University of New Orleans and wrote a novel in Vietnamese. He became good friends with former Republic of Vietnam Air Force Colonel An Vo. He also played a large role in the Vietnamese community in New Orleans. However, there were claims from the Vietnamese government that Ly Tong was unemployed during his time in America and conducted an insurance scam.[7]
Anti-communist activism
In the 1990s he decided to take up
On January 1, 2000, he flew over
On November 17, 2000, Ly Tong and a copilot flew to Thailand, from where he flew to drop 50,000 pamphlets calling for armed demonstrations against the communist government of Vietnam over Ho Chi Minh City. The leaflet-dropping coincided with a visit to Vietnam by then-U.S. President Bill Clinton. After landing, he was arrested by Thai authorities. In December 2004, the Vietnamese government sent an extradition request to Thailand, accusing Tong of slandering the Government of Vietnam and violating the territorial security of Vietnam. The Thai lower court did not consider the slander charge, deeming it a political offense, but ruled there was sufficient reason to extradite Tong. In 2006, Tong was released by the Thai government and returned to the United States. The decision to extradite Tong to Vietnam was overturned by Thai appeals court after it ruled that Tong's act was a political offense, rather than a criminal one.[13][14][15]
On August 26, 2008, Ly Tong rented a plane and pilot for travel. But a short time after taking off, Tong told the pilot to fly the airplane over North Korea so that he could spread anti-communist leaflets to the North Koreans. The pilot told him that due to the lack of fuel they had to return to Seoul to refill, whilst sending an emergency hijacking signal to the airport authorities. Upon landing, Tong was arrested and briefly detained by the airport authorities.[16]
He was arrested again in July 2010 for a
Later life and death
In February through March 2008, he conducted a hunger strike at San Jose City Hall, protesting efforts by city councilwoman Madison Nguyen to name a district of the city "New Saigon Business District" instead of "Little Saigon".[20][21]
Tong died of
References
- ^ a b c "Ly Tong, Vietnamese Pilot Who Hijacked Planes to Fight Communism, Dies at 74". New York Times. Retrieved December 16, 2023.
- ^ THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF CALIFORNIA, PLAINTIFFS vs. LY TONG, DEFENDANT(S), Superior Court of California, County of Santa Clara, San Jose Facility, July 23, 2010, retrieved October 1, 2010
- ^ a b c "Lý Tống, người hùng cướp máy bay để chống chủ nghĩa cộng sản, từ trần", Radio Free Asia, April 8, 2019, retrieved April 11, 2021
- ^ "Không tặc ở Việt Nam: Đối mặt với Lý Tống", Tuổi Trẻ, October 30, 2017, retrieved April 11, 2021
- ^ a b "The Last Action Hero". December 4, 2004. Archived from the original on December 4, 2004. Retrieved April 7, 2019.
- ^ Hundreds of admirers pay their respects in Westminster to ‘Vietnamese James Bond’ Ly Tong at public viewing
- ^ "Kỳ án hiện đại - Bài 4: Kết cục thảm hại". Pháp Luật Online (Vietnamese Newspaper). Retrieved December 16, 2023.
Kiếm sống trên đất Mỹ bằng "nghề" ăn vạ
- ^ a b "Vietnam dissident wins reprieve". April 3, 2007. Retrieved April 7, 2019 – via news.bbc.co.uk.
- ^ "Thais to deport protest hijacker". September 7, 2006. Retrieved April 7, 2019 – via news.bbc.co.uk.
- ^ a b "BBC News - AMERICAS - Row after Cuba leaflet pilot freed". news.bbc.co.uk. Retrieved April 7, 2019.
- ^ "BBC News - AMERICAS - Vietnamese pilot under investigation". news.bbc.co.uk. Retrieved April 7, 2019.
- ^ Phi Nguyen (April 9, 2007). "Anh LY TONG voi Cong Dong CUBA - Jan 2000". Archived from the original on December 12, 2021. Retrieved April 7, 2019 – via YouTube.
- ^ "Thailand not to extradite Vietnamese dissident". pravda.ru. April 3, 2007. Retrieved November 28, 2021.
- ^ Brief taste of freedom for Ly Tong Archived October 8, 2012, at the Wayback Machine, The Nation, May 18, 2006.
- ^ "Gulf Times – Qatar's top-selling English daily newspaper - Philippines/East Asia". September 15, 2012. Archived from the original on September 15, 2012. Retrieved April 7, 2019.
- ^ "Dissident 'attacks' Vietnam star". BBC News. July 26, 2010. Retrieved April 7, 2019.
- ^ "VOVNEWS.VN - US police arrest Ly Tong for attacking Vietnamese singer - US police arrest Ly Tong for attacking Vietnamese singer". October 24, 2010. Archived from the original on October 24, 2010. Retrieved April 7, 2019.
- ^ "Dissident 'attacks' Vietnam star". BBC News. July 20, 2010. Retrieved April 7, 2019.
- ^ "San Jose: Despite pleas for leniency, judge sentences activist Ly Tong to jail". June 22, 2012. Retrieved April 7, 2019.
- ^ May, Patrick (February 20, 2008), "'Little Saigon' hunger striker: 'I'll continue until I die'", San Jose Mercury News, retrieved February 28, 2008
- ^ "Councilmen Help End 'Little Saigon' Hunger Strike", KTVU News, March 13, 2008, archived from the original on June 23, 2008, retrieved October 1, 2010
- ^ Mydans, Seth (April 6, 2019). "Ly Tong, Vietnamese Pilot Who Hijacked Planes to Fight Communism, Dies at 74". The New York Times. Retrieved April 7, 2019.
External links
- Official Facebook page Ly Tong
- Vietnamese Embassy bomber claims he is "for freedom and human rights"
- An old soldier still fights Vietnam War
- Vietnam welcomes Thai ruling to extradite US anti-communist Archived March 10, 2007, at the Wayback Machine
- Viet Nam hails Thailand’s decision to extradite Ly Tong
- Vietnam dissident wins reprieve
- The Last Action Hero
- Anti-communist leaves paper trail The Seattle Times
- Do Not Bring Communists to the Vietnamese American Community
- San Jose: Despite pleas for leniency, judge sentences activist Ly Tong to jail