Merle Ratner, a close friend of Vietnam, passed away on February 5 evening in New York. (Photo: Quang Huy/ VNA)

Merle Ratner, a renowned left-wing and anti-war activist in the US and a close friend of Vietnam, passed away on February 5 evening in New York in a traffic accident near her house in Brooklyn.

Merle Evelyn Ratner, born in 1956 in New York City, has a special love for Vietnam. She took to the streets to protest against the Vietnam War when she was 13 years old and became famous for hanging anti-war slogans on the Statue of Liberty.

Ratner actively participated in protests against the US war in Vietnam since the late 1960s, the anti-imperialist movement in the 1970s and 1980s, and anti-racism campaigns in America today.

After 1975, with a deep love for Vietnam, Ratner campaigned for the normalization of Vietnam-US relations, supported Vietnam’s international activities and supported Agent Orange victims of Vietnam.

Merle Ratner was awarded the "For Vietnamese Agent Orange Victims" award in 2013; Medal "For the development of Vietnamese women" in 2010.

In a conversation with reporters from the Vietnam News Agency in New York on February 1 on the 94th anniversary of the founding of the Communist Party of Vietnam, activist Merle Ratner emphasized that the leadership of Communist Party of Vietnam is decisive in all achievements and victories of Vietnam. She affirmed that the Communist Party of Vietnam has been steadfast on the path to socialism, fighting for the values of socialism worldwide and that Vietnam will certainly succeed on the chosen path.