Nguyễn Văn Trỗi (1 February 1940Staff report (16 October 1964)

''

Time Time is the continued sequence of existence and events that occurs in an apparently irreversible succession from the past, through the present, into the future. It is a component quantity of various measurements used to sequence events, ...

'' (only available online for subscribers). The article describes Trỗi as aged 17 at the time of his execution, although other sources cite 1940 as his year of birth, making him 24 years old at death, which may be more likely given he was married at the time of his death, although the exact year or date of his birth may never be known. – 15 October 1964) was a Vietnamese revolutionary and member of the

Việt Cộng , , war = the Vietnam War , image = FNL Flag.svg , caption = The flag of the Viet Cong, adopted in 1960, is a variation on the flag of North Vietnam. Sometimes the lower stripe was green. , active ...

(National Liberation Front). He gained notoriety after being captured by

South Vietnamese South Vietnam, officially the Republic of Vietnam ( vi, Việt Nam Cộng hòa), was a state in Southeast Asia that existed from 1955 to 1975, the period when the southern portion of Vietnam was a member of the Western Bloc during part of th ...

forces while trying to assassinate

United States Secretary of Defense The United States secretary of defense (SecDef) is the head of the United States Department of Defense, the executive department of the U.S. Armed Forces, and is a high ranking member of the federal cabinet. DoDD 5100.1: Enclosure 2: a The ...

Robert McNamara Robert Strange McNamara (; June 9, 1916 – July 6, 2009) was an American business executive and the eighth United States Secretary of Defense, serving from 1961 to 1968 under Presidents John F. Kennedy and Lyndon B. Johnson. He remains the ...

and Ambassador Henry Cabot Lodge Jr. who were visiting South Vietnam in May 1964.Greene, Felix Greene (1966). ''Vietnam! Vietnam! In photographs and text''. Palo Alto, California: Fulton Publishing Company, LCCN 66-28359

Sentence and execution

In May 1964 Viet Cong forces planned to assassinate McNamara and Lodge by blowing up the Cong Ly Bridge () as their motorcade passed over the bridge. Trỗi was captured by South Vietnamese forces. Sentenced to death, Trỗi got a brief reprieve after the FALN, a

Venezuela Venezuela (; ), officially the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela ( es, link=no, República Bolivariana de Venezuela), is a country on the northern coast of South America, consisting of a continental landmass and many islands and islets in th ...

n communist guerrilla group, kidnapped

United States Air Force The United States Air Force (USAF) is the Aerial warfare, air military branch, service branch of the United States Armed Forces, and is one of the eight uniformed services of the United States. Originally created on 1 August 1907, as a part ...

Lieutenant Colonel Michael Smolen in revenge for Trỗi's sentence. The group threatened to kill Smolen if Trỗi was executed. Smolen was eventually released unharmed, and Trỗi was shot by

firing squad Execution by firing squad, in the past sometimes called fusillading (from the French ''fusil'', rifle), is a method of capital punishment, particularly common in the military and in times of war. Some reasons for its use are that firearms are ...

shortly thereafter in

Chí Hòa Prison Chí Hòa Prison ( or ') is a functioning Vietnamese prison located in Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam. The prison is an octagonal building on a 7-hectare siteStaff report. (23 October 1964)
"Suggestions, Anyone?"
''

'' Trỗi became the first publicly executed member of the Viet Cong.Reuters (15 October 1964). "Saigon Executes Youth For Plot on McNamara". ''

The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid d ...

'' 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." As the first shots were fired, he called out, "Long live Vietnam!"

Legacy

In the West, Trỗi's arrest went largely unreported in the mainstream; indeed, major news media did not report on Trỗi at all until the FALN kidnapping episode.e.g. See ''The New York Times'', 1963–64. His anonymity persisted after his execution, despite the honors heaped upon him in Communist countries. Apart from advocacy by revolutionaries like the

Weather Underground The Weather Underground was a far-left militant organization first active in 1969, founded on the Ann Arbor campus of the University of Michigan. Originally known as the Weathermen, the group was organized as a faction of Students for a Democr ...

,Grathwohl, Larry, and Reagan, Frank (1976). ''Bringing Down America: An FBI Informer with the Weathermen''. Arlington House, New Rochelle, NY, page 39. and a brief mention in Abbie Hoffman's ''

Steal This Book ''Steal This Book'' is a book written by Abbie Hoffman. Written in 1970 and published in 1971, the book exemplified the counterculture of the sixties. The book sold more than a quarter of a million copies between April and November 1971. The numb ...

'' (1971) as a "Vietnamese hero", Trỗi is still rarely acknowledged in Western accounts of the

Vietnam War The Vietnam War (also known by other names) was a conflict in Vietnam, Laos, and Cambodia from 1 November 1955 to the fall of Saigon on 30 April 1975. It was the second of the Indochina Wars and was officially fought between North Vietnam a ...

. Trỗi was glorified by the Việt Cộng and

North Vietnam North Vietnam, officially the Democratic Republic of Vietnam (DRV; vi, Việt Nam Dân chủ Cộng hòa), was a socialist state supported by the Soviet Union (USSR) and the People's Republic of China (PRC) in Southeast Asia that existed f ...

as a

martyr A martyr (, ''mártys'', "witness", or , ''marturia'', stem , ''martyr-'') is someone who suffers persecution and death for advocating, renouncing, or refusing to renounce or advocate, a religious belief or other cause as demanded by an externa ...

. 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.''The New York Times'' (19 May 1968). "Postal Issues of North Vietnam". Considered an exemplar, Trỗi has his name bestowed upon a large school, the ''Lycée Nguyễn Văn Trỗi'' in

Nha Trang Nha Trang ( or ; ) is a coastal city and capital of Khánh Hòa Province, on the South Central Coast of Vietnam. It is bounded on the north by Ninh Hoà town, on the south by Cam Ranh city and on the west by Diên Khánh District. The city ha ...

, and a national academic award, ''The Nguyễn Văn Trỗi Prize''. Many cities in Vietnam have named major streets after him. In

Hồ Chí Minh City , population_density_km2 = 4,292 , population_density_metro_km2 = 697.2 , population_demonym = Saigonese , blank_name = GRP (Nominal) , blank_info = 2019 , blank1_name = – Total , blank1_ ...

, the major road upon which McNamara traveled—and where Trỗi planned to assassinate him—is named Nguyen Van Troi Boulevard and a memorial park, the ''Bia tưởng niệm Anh Hung Liet Si Nguyễn Văn Trỗi'' is located near the former Cong Ly Bridge. In

Đà Nẵng Nang or DanangSee also Danang Dragons ( ; vi, Đà Nẵng, ) is a class-1 municipality and the fifth-largest city in Vietnam by municipal population. It lies on the coast of the East Sea of Vietnam at the mouth of the Hàn River, and is on ...

, the Nguyễn Văn Trỗi Bridge spans the Hàn River. Other countries have commemorated Trỗi, particularly

Cuba Cuba ( , ), officially the Republic of Cuba ( es, República de Cuba, links=no ), is an island country comprising the island of Cuba, as well as Isla de la Juventud and several minor archipelagos. Cuba is located where the northern Caribbea ...

. where a 14,000-seat public stadium in

Guantánamo Guantánamo (, , ) is a municipality and city in southeast Cuba and capital of Guantánamo Province. Guantánamo is served by the Caimanera port near the site of a U.S. naval base. The area produces sugarcane and cotton wool. These are traditi ...

is named Nguyen Van Troi Stadium, and his statue overlooks Nguyen Van Troi Park in

Havana Havana (; Spanish: ''La Habana'' ) is the capital and largest city of Cuba. The heart of the La Habana Province, Havana is the country's main port and commercial center.

; the city also has a school and a hospital named for him. Anti-war activists Jane Fonda and

Tom Hayden Thomas Emmet Hayden (December 11, 1939October 23, 2016) was an American social and political activist, author, and politician. Hayden was best known for his role as an anti-war, civil rights, and intellectual activist in the 1960s, authoring t ...

named their son, an actor now known as

Troy Garity Troy Garity (born July 7, 1973) is an American film actor. He is primarily known for his role as Isaac in the ''Barbershop'' film series and as Barry Winchell in the television movie ''Soldier's Girl'' (2003), where he was nominated for a Golden ...

, in honor of Trỗi."The heart doesn't grow Fonda"
by

Mark Steyn Mark Steyn (; born December 8, 1959) is a Canadian author and a radio and television presenter. He has written several books, including ''The New York Times'' bestsellers '' America Alone: The End of the World As We Know It'', ''After America: G ...

, ''The Telegraph'', 3 January 1998. The 1975 film ''Chronicle of a Latin American subversive'' (Spanish: ''Crónica de un subversivo latinoamericano'') by director Mauricio Walerstein, narrates the kidnapping episode of Colonel Smolen (portrayed as ''Colonel Robert Whitney'' by actor

Claudio Brook Claudio Brook (born Claude Sydney Brook Marnat, 28 August 1927 – 18 October 1995) was a Mexican actor. Life Born in Mexico City, Brook had a prolific career, making around 100 film and television appearances in his 38 years as an actor. ...

) by FALN guerrillas in response to Trỗi's death sentence.Crónica de un subversivo latinoamericano (Chronicle of a Latin American Subversive) (1975) – Rotten Tomatoes
/ref>

Biography

Trỗi's widow, Phan Thi Quyen, authored the 1965 book ''Nguyễn Văn Trỗi As He Was''.Phan Thi Quyen (c. 1965) ''Nguyen van troi tel qu'il etait'' (edited by Trần Đình Văn). Hanoi: Editions en langues etrangeres; F8HG.4/P535T

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Nguyen, Troi Van 1940 births 1964 deaths Failed assassins Vietnamese people of the Vietnam War Executed Vietnamese people People executed by South Vietnam People executed by Vietnam by firing squad 1964 in Vietnam People executed for attempted murder Filmed executions Vietnamese communists Place of birth missing Year of birth uncertain