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A Vietnamese revolutionary, Võ Thị Thắng was captured by South Vietnamese forces in 1968 after she tried to assassinate a suspected spy. She was sentenced to 20 years of hard labor, but she seemed undaunted by the punishment. Even when one of her judges purportedly tried to intimidate Thắng by saying that she would be "buried in a dark prison," she famously retorted, "Will your government last long enough to imprison me for 20 years?" Her bold response and her joyous demeanor later became internationally famous thanks to a picture of her taken that day, which is now known as the "Smile of Victory" photo. And as it turned out, Thắng ended up serving less than six years of her planned sentence.
Born on Dec. 10, 1945, Võ Thị Thắng grew up in a country at war. France had conquered Vietnam in the 19th century, but the French Indochina War began in 1946 as France struggled to hold onto its colony, and Vietnamese nationals led by Hồ Chí Minh and Võ Nguyên Giáp fought back.
When she was 16 years old, she joined the National Liberation Front of South Vietnam, or the Viet Cong.
At age 17, Thắng went to Saigon. As American involvement in Vietnam escalated, Thắng joined the Ho Chi Minh Communist Youth Union and the Vietnamese Students’ Association, both of which were banned in Saigon.
The opportunity to do even more came in 1968, when Võ Thị Thắng was ordered to assassinate a suspected spy.
Võ Thị Thắng was tasked with assassinating an alleged “secret agent” named Trần Văn Đỗ. So on July 27, 1968, Thắng broke into Do’s house. Finding him in bed, she raised her gun — and fired. However, she failed to kill her target.
She was soon arrested and put on trial for the attempted killing. Later on in 1968, Võ Thị Thắng was sentenced to 20 years of hard labor. According to Vietnamese media, one of her judges purportedly tried to intimidate her by saying that she would be “buried in a dark prison.”
Far from being cowed by his words, Thắng famously retorted: “Will your government last long enough to imprison me for 20 years?”
Thắng ultimately spent less than six years in prison. But Võ Thị Thắng remained unbroken. And in the end, her words at her trial proved prophetic. Saigon fell on April 30, 1975. By then, Thắng had already been released under the Paris Peace Accords a year earlier.
Though the Vietnam War had ended, Võ Thị Thắng continued to live a politically active life. She was honored by the Communist Party, which gave her several awards, and later served in Vietnam’s Party Central Committee and National Assembly. Additionally, she helped handle the Vietnam Women’s Union, and even led the country’s tourism industry.
Finally she died on Aug 22, 2014, at the age of 68.
Born on Dec. 10, 1945, Võ Thị Thắng grew up in a country at war. France had conquered Vietnam in the 19th century, but the French Indochina War began in 1946 as France struggled to hold onto its colony, and Vietnamese nationals led by Hồ Chí Minh and Võ Nguyên Giáp fought back.
When she was 16 years old, she joined the National Liberation Front of South Vietnam, or the Viet Cong.
At age 17, Thắng went to Saigon. As American involvement in Vietnam escalated, Thắng joined the Ho Chi Minh Communist Youth Union and the Vietnamese Students’ Association, both of which were banned in Saigon.
The opportunity to do even more came in 1968, when Võ Thị Thắng was ordered to assassinate a suspected spy.
Võ Thị Thắng was tasked with assassinating an alleged “secret agent” named Trần Văn Đỗ. So on July 27, 1968, Thắng broke into Do’s house. Finding him in bed, she raised her gun — and fired. However, she failed to kill her target.
She was soon arrested and put on trial for the attempted killing. Later on in 1968, Võ Thị Thắng was sentenced to 20 years of hard labor. According to Vietnamese media, one of her judges purportedly tried to intimidate her by saying that she would be “buried in a dark prison.”
Far from being cowed by his words, Thắng famously retorted: “Will your government last long enough to imprison me for 20 years?”
Thắng ultimately spent less than six years in prison. But Võ Thị Thắng remained unbroken. And in the end, her words at her trial proved prophetic. Saigon fell on April 30, 1975. By then, Thắng had already been released under the Paris Peace Accords a year earlier.
Though the Vietnam War had ended, Võ Thị Thắng continued to live a politically active life. She was honored by the Communist Party, which gave her several awards, and later served in Vietnam’s Party Central Committee and National Assembly. Additionally, she helped handle the Vietnam Women’s Union, and even led the country’s tourism industry.
Finally she died on Aug 22, 2014, at the age of 68.