Ly Tong
From Freepedia
Ly Tong (born Le Van Tong), a Vietnamese-American, was born in 1946 in Vietnam, and is a devout Anti-Communist.
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Early Life
In 1965, at the age of 19, he served in the Republic of Vietnam's Air Force. He was assigned to the South Vietnam's "Black Eagle" Fighter Squadron.
In April 1975, during a combat mission his A-37 bomber was hit by a Soviet anti-aircraft rocket and he had to eject out of his bomber into North Vietnam and was imprisoned for five years in a re-education camp. He escaped through the jungles into Cambodia to Thailand and then made his way to Singapore to petition the United States Embassy for political asylum.
In Exile
In 1984, he immigrated to the United States and he received a letter from then President Ronald Reagan for his struggle to attain freedom from the clutches of Communism.
He attended the University of New Orleans earning a master's degree.
First Return to Communist Vietnam
In the 1990s he decided to take up new anti-communist activities, and in 1992, he hijacked an Air Vietnam airliner and forced the pilot to fly over Ho Chi Minh City so that he was able to drop thousands of leaflets calling for insurrection against the Communist government of Vietnam.
The leaflets stated:
Dear compatriots:
Our time has come. The US President and the Pope have expressed their support for military intervention by foreign forces into a country for humanitarian reasons. Follow the lead of the Indonesian and Yougoslavian people, stand up to overthrow the inhuman Vietcong regime. Fidel Castro and the Hanoi thugs were dealt a staggering blow when fifty thousand leaflets were spread over Havana on the 41st national celebration of Communism in Cuba. As soon as this leaflet reaches you, immediately spread the news and get ready to participate in the national March for Freedom on the 17th of November, 2000, the day when the US President visits Vietnam. Every man, woman and child should join the demonstration. Everybody should be there. Be prepared to fight against any resistance. The March for Freedom must be sustained until the final Victory. Your fellow countrymen abroad, the NATO organization, the United Nations, and all the leading countries of the free world are standing behind you. Follow the spirit of Thien An Mon, stand up to raise your own Arc of Triumph. History is ready to welcome the Goddess of Liberty.
(Side 2)
The Central Party Committee is all butchers and thugs Who live, indifferent, around their feast of skulls We bow our heads -- Communism tramples on us We stand up -- Communism falls apart
He parachuted and jumped from the plane, to lead a revolution, but he landed in a swamp and was apprehended by Vietnamese Communist soldiers and sentenced to 20 years.
In 1998, the Communist Vietnamese government released him as part of an amnesty program along with other democracy activists Doan Viet Hoat and Nguyen Dan Que.
First Trip to Communist Cuba
On January 1, 2000, he flew over Havana, Cuba and dropped leaflets to the Cuban people to rise up and revolt against the Communist dictatorship of Fidel Castro.
The leaflets stated:
"Demand your right to be the master of your own freedom and liberty. Insist on redressing every Cuban social and cultural issue associated with your inalienable human rights!"
"Coordinate Cuba's internal resistance forces with her global partners in quest for liberty, including all freedom fighters of Vietnam, China, Korea and everywhere else in the Universe, to overthrow Havana's tyrannical legacy of the Twentieth Century."
"Get rid of Fidel Castro and the cruelty of his Twentieth Century regime."
On his return to Kendall-Tamiami Executive Airport, Florida, he was detained and questioned by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement but was released without charges. The Federal Aviation Administration suspended his pilots license.
On his return back to Florida, he was hailed a hero by the Cuban-Americans and there was a return parade for his flight over Cuba.
Second Return to Communist Vietnam
In January 24, 2001, he hijacked a plane in Thailand and dropped 50,000 pamphlets calling for peaceful demonstrations against the Communist government of Vietnam over Ho Chi Minh City and upon his return to Thai airspace he was arrested and sentenced to seven years and four months in prison.
The Vietnamese-American community has supported Ly Tong and are politically pressuring the government of Thailand to release Ly Tong from prison and transfer him to the United States.
Quotes
- "I believe in God, justice and my mission against communism"
- "Please! Send me anywhere there aren't any Communists!"
- "I cannot live my life if people are living in horrible conditions"
See also
Vietnamese atrocities after the fall of Saigon
External links
- Official Website of Ly Tong
- Prince Nguyen Phuc Buu Chanh and the Army of the Republic of Vietnam call for Ly Tong's Release from Thailand Photos
- The Last Action Hero
- Anti-communist leaves paper trail The Seattle Times
Categories: Vietnamese Americans | Vietnam War people | National liberation movements | 1946 births | Vietnamese people
