Ly Tong

In January 1970, he was assigned to the "Black Eagle" Fighter Squadron of 4th Air Force Division, at the city of Cần Thơ, where he trained to fly the Cessna U-17 and A-37 Dragonfly.In August 1980, while interned at a re-education camp in Tuy Hoa, he fled to Ho Chi Minh City where he lived illegally.With fake identity documents, he fled Vietnam by crossing the border by land to Cambodia and subsequently arrived in Thailand by bike, bus, train and on foot.[5] In 1984, Ly was granted asylum in the United States and received a letter from then-President Ronald Reagan commending him for his struggle to attain freedom from captivity in Vietnam.On January 1, 2000, he flew over Havana, Cuba, and dropped leaflets encouraging the Cuban people to rise up and revolt against the government of Fidel Castro.The Thai lower court did not consider the slander charge, deeming it a political offense, but ruled there was sufficient reason to extradite Tong.The pilot told him that due to the lack of fuel they had to return to Seoul to refill, whilst sending an emergency hijacking signal to the airport authorities.[15] He was arrested again in July 2010 for a pepper spray assault on Vietnamese singer Dam Vinh Hung at a concert in Santa Clara, California.
South Vietnamese A-37B Dragonfly
Thừa Thiên ProvinceFrench IndochinaVietnamSan DiegoCaliforniaSouth VietnamUnited StatesRepublic of Vietnam Air ForceVietnam WarVietnamese Americananti-communistFirst Indochina warNha TrangCần ThơCessna U-17A-37 DragonflyCambodian campaignPhan RangCentral HighlandsNorth Vietnameseanti-aircraft firecity of Saigon was capturedNorth Vietnamese Armyre-education campTuy HoaHo Chi Minh Cityforged documentsCambodiaThailandJohor StraitSingaporeUnited States Embassy in SingaporeRonald ReaganUniversity of New Orleansin 1992, he hijacked a Vietnam Airlines airlinerHavanaFidel CastroU.S. Immigration and Customs EnforcementFederal Aviation AdministrationBill Clintonpepper sprayDam Vinh HungSanta Clara, Californiahunger strikeSan Jose City HallMadison Nguyenlung cancerSharp Memorial HospitalSan Diego, CaliforniaWestminster, CaliforniaWayback Machine