The Viet Nam Union of Friendship Organisations (VUFO) on February 16 held a memorial service in Hanoi for US peace activist Merle Evelyn Ratner, a close friend of Viet Nam, who passed away earlier this month.

Ratner was killed by a tow truck in the East Village while crossing the street near her house in Brooklyn on February 5.
Born in 1956 in New York City, she had a special love for Viet Nam. She took to the streets to protest against the Viet Nam War when she was 13 years old and became famous for hanging anti-war slogans on the Statue of Liberty. She was a co-founder and coordinator of the Viet Nam Agent Orange Relief & Responsibility Campaign (VAORRC) in the New York area.
Ratner actively participated in protests against the US war in Viet Nam since the late 1960s, the anti-imperialism movement in the 1970s and 1980s, and anti-racism campaigns in America today.
After 1975, with a deep love for Viet Nam, Ratner campaigned for the normalisation of the Viet Nam-US relations, and supported Viet Nam’s international activities. She visited Viet Nam many times, and engaged in joint work with mass organisations, the Viet Nam Fatherland Front, and the Ho Chi Minh National Academy of Politics.