Nguyễn Văn Trỗi (1 February 1940 – 15 October 1964) was a #Vietnamese #revolutionary & member of the NLF (National Liberation Front). He gained notoriety after being captured by ARVN forces while trying to assassinate US Secretary of Defense Robert McNamara & Ambassador Henry Cabot Lodge Jr. who were visiting South Vietnam in May 1964.

Trỗi became the first publicly executed member of the NLF. His execution was filmed, and he remained defiant to the end. His last words before his execution in #Saigon :

“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 Trỗi 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!”

His wife wrote a biography book on his short but brave life. Phan Thi Quyen (c. 1965) Nguyen van troi tel qu’il etait (Nguyễn Văn Trỗi As He Was).

#AsianMastodon #Vietnam #VietnameseRevolutionaries #ColonialResistance #Communist #VietnameseHistory #AsianHistory #SouthEastAsia #Viet #Geopolitics #USWarOnVietnam #LongLiveVietnam #VietnameseSovereignty #LearnHistory #TootSEA #ResistanceFighters

#pinoy