Võ Thị Sáu

Vietnamese revolutionary martyr

Võ Thị Sáu (Đất Đỏ, 1933 – January 23, 1952) was a Vietnamese hero. She was a schoolgirl who fought against the French. (Vietnam was a French colony until 1954.) She was a guerilla fighter.

Võ Thị Sáu
before 1952
Born1933
Phước Thọ, Đất Đỏ, Vietnam
Died(1952-03-13)March 13, 1952 (aged 19)
Côn Sơn Prison, Côn Sơn Island, Vietnam
NationalityVietnamese
OccupationNationalist guerilla
Years active1948-1952
Known forMartyrdom

She was born Phước Thọ Commune, Đất Đỏ District in 1933. In 1948, she started helping the Viet Minh. Many of her friends and family were part of the Viet Minh. She was a contact for the guerillas and passed information to the fighters.[1]

When she was 14, she attacked some French soldiers. She threw a grenade at them. A Captain was killed. Twelve soldiers were hurt. She was not caught.[2]

In 1949, she made another attack. She threw a grenade at a man who was in charge of executions (a canton chief.) The attack did not work: the grenade didn't explode. The French police caught her after the attack. She was sent to prison.[2]

Sáu went to three different prisons.[2] The last prison she went to was Côn Sơn Prison in the Côn Đảo Islands. She was executed (killed) on 23 January 1952. She was 18 years old.[3]

Today, she is considered a martyr. She is buried in Hàng Dương Cemetery on Côn Sơn Island. Many Vietnamese people come to worship at her grave.[4]

References