Võ Thị Sáu

Võ Thị Sáu (Đất Đỏ, 1933 – March 13, 1952) was a Vietnamese schoolgirl who fought as a guerilla against the French occupiers of Vietnam. She was captured, tried, convicted and executed by the French colonialists in 1952, becoming the first woman to be executed at Côn Sơn Prison. Today she is considered a Vietnamese national martyr and heroine.

She was born Phước Thọ Commune, Đất Đỏ District in 1933. At the time, this was part of Bà Rịa Province, but today is a part of Long Đất District, Bà Rịa–Vũng Tàu Province. In 1948, she became a contact for a local guerilla group after many of her friends and family joined the Viet Minh.

When she was 14 she threw a grenade at a group of French soldiers in the crowded market area, killing of them and injuring 12. She escaped undetected. Late in 1949, she threw another grenade at a Vietnamese canton chief — a local man responsible executing many suspected Viet Minh sympathizers. The grenade failed to explode, and she was caught by the French authorities.

Sáu was imprisoned in three different facilities, the last of which was Côn Sơn Prison in the Côn Đảo Islands. She was executed on March 13, 1952, at the age of 19.

Today, Sáu is considered a nationalist martyr and a symbol of revolutionary spirit. She is venerated by the Vietnamese people as an ancestral spirit, and has amassed almost a cult-like following of devotees who venerate her grave in Hàng Dương Cemetery on Côn Sơn Island.