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  • Los Angeles Times

    Ly Tong, the 'Vietnamese James Bond' and anti-communist folk hero, nears death

    by Anh Do, Los Angeles Times Apr 02, 2019 6 minutes

    They called him the Vietnamese James Bond.

    On a September day in 1992, Ly Tong hijacked an Airbus A310 on a charter flight for Vietnam Airlines, flew over Ho Chi Minh City, formerly known as Saigon, and dropped thousands of little paper bombs calling for the overthrow of the communist government.

    After the rain of leaflets, he jumped from the aircraft, parachuting right into a swamp.

    Today, hooked to tubes, the former South Vietnamese fighter pilot is in on a hospital bed and battles for consciousness as he nears his final descent, diagnosed with liver disease.

    A longtime supporter, Thien Thanh Nguyen, leaned toward him. "If you can hear me, please let me know," he said.

    In a coma since March 21, Tong turned his head slightly.

    "He's trying his best," Nguyen said.

    For many Vietnamese immigrants from the older generation - staunch Republicans and parents and grandparents who saw their

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