Mourning Ali in Vietnam

[Gecko123]

I was in HCMC city when the news broke that Muhammad Ali had passed away.

Because of his early opposition to the Vietnam War and his refusal to be inducted into the armed services on the grounds of conscientious objection, Ali did a lot to oppose what most people regard as an unjust war.

That evening I tried to engage people out on the street to see if they were aware of Ali's historical relationship to Vietnam. The results were somewhat mixed. Some of the younger people I asked did not seem to know who he was. A raised fist accompanied by chants of 'Ali, Ali, Ali' drew blank stares. But a number of middle-aged and older people did seem to know who he was, and even about his opposition to the war.

Because my Vietnamese is very limited, I really wasn't able to get a true feel for how the Vietnamese people felt about him. Can anyone who lives in Vietnam or spent a lot of time there share how well he was known, the extent to which his anti-war efforts were appreciated there, and what kind of press coverage his death has received?

Thanks.