Nguyen Van Troi

Nguyen Van Troi
Nguyen Van Troi moments before being shot
Born	ca. 1947
Died	October 15, 1964 (aged 17)
Conviction(s)	Attempted murder
Penalty	Death by firing squad
Status	Deceased

Nguyễn Văn Trỗi (1947 ^[1] – October 15, 1964) was a Viet Cong (National Liberation Front) bomber. He became known after being captured by the South Vietnamese when trying to assassinate United States Secretary of Defense Robert McNamara and future ambassador Henry Cabot Lodge, Jr. who were visiting South Vietnam in May 1963.^[2]

Execution

Sentenced to death at the age of 17, Troi got a brief reprieve after Venezuela's revolutionary FALN kidnapped United States Air Force Lieutenant Colonel Michael Smolen: the group threatened to kill the American if Troi was executed. Smolen was eventually released unharmed, and Troi was shot by firing squad shortly thereafter in the infamous Chi Hoa Prison.^[3]

Nguyen Van Troi became the first publicly executed member of the Viet Cong.^[4] His execution was filmed, and he remained defiant to the end. His last words before his execution in Saigon to correspondents were "You are journalists and so you must be well informed about what is happening. It is the Americans who have committed aggression on our country, it is they who have been killing our people with planes and bombs.... I have never acted against the will of my people. It is against the Americans that I have taken action." When a priest offered him absolution, he refused, saying: "I have committed no sin. It is the Americans who have sinned." He refused to have his eyes covered before volleys hit him saying "Let me look at our beloved land" and as the first shots were fired, he called out, "Long live Vietnam!".^[2]

Legacy

1965 NLF stamp depicting the execution of Nguyen Van Troi produced by the National Liberation Front of South Vietnam. (October 15, 1965).‎

In the West, Troi's arrest went largely unreported in the mainstream; indeed, major news media did not report on Troi at all until the FALN kidnapping episode.^[5] His anonymity persisted after his execution, despite the honors heaped upon him in Communist countries. Apart from advocacy by revolutionaries like the Weather Underground,^[6] and a brief mention in Abbie Hoffman's Steal This Book, Troi is still rarely acknowledged in Western accounts of the Vietnam War.

However Troi was glorified by the Viet Cong and North Vietnam as a martyr. The first notable act of recognition was in 1965 when the DRVN issued a postage stamp, illustrated on the right, bearing a portrait of him.^[7] Considered an exemplar, Troi has his name bestowed upon a large school, the Lycée Nguyen Van Troi in Nha Trang, and a national academic award, The Nguyen Van Troi Prize.

Most cities in Vietnam have named major streets after him.^[8] In Ho Chi Minh City, the major road upon which McNamara traveled—and where Troi planned to assassinate him—is named Nguyen Van Troi Boulevard. In Đà Nẵng, a Nguyen Van Troi Bridge spans the Han River. Other countries commemorated Troi also, but none more so than Cuba: there the 14,000-seat public stadium in Guantánamo is named Estadio Nguyen Van Troi, and his statue overlooks Nguyen Van Troi Park in Havana; the city also has a school and a hospital named for him.

Anti-war activists Jane Fonda and Tom Hayden named their son—actor Troy Garity—in honour of Nguyen Van Troi.^[9]

Biography

Troi's wife Phan Thi Quyen authored the 1965 book Nguyen Van Troi As He Was. ^[10]

References

1. ^ Staff report (October 16, 1964). Another Nasty Stunt. Time. Article describes him as aged 17 at the time of his execution.
2. ^ ^{a b} Greene, Felix Greene (1966). Vietnam! Vietnam! In photographs and text. Palo Alto, California: Fulton Publishing Company, LCCN 66-28359
3. ^ Staff report. (October 23, 1964). Suggestions, Anyone? Time
4. ^ Reuters (October 15, 1964). "Saigon Executes Youth For Plot on McNamara". New York Times
5. ^ e.g. See New York Times, 1963-1964.
6. ^ Grathwohl, Larry, and Reagan, Frank (1976). Bringing Down America: An FBI Informer with the Weathermen. Arlington House, New Rochelle, NY. p.39.
7. ^ New York Times (May 19, 1968). "Postal Issues of North Vietnam".
8. ^ Vietnam Country Map. Periplus Travel Maps. 2002–03. ISBN 0-7946-0070-0. 
9. ^ The heart doesn't grow Fonda by Mark Steyn, The Telegraph, January 3, 1998.
10. ^ Phan Thi Quyen (c. 1965). Nguyen van troi tel qu'il etait (edited by Tran Dinh Van). Hanoi: Editions en langues etrangeres. F8HG.4/P535T

Persondata
Name	Nguyen, Troi Van
Alternative names
Short description
Date of birth	1947
Place of birth
Date of death	October 15, 1964
Place of death