(VOVworld)-  A funeral service was held for Ms Vo Thi Thang who rendered great service to the nation, Ho Chi Minh City on Monday. Vo Thi Thang was born in 1945 in southern Long An province. She was an iconic patriotic student in Gia Long school in Sai Gon. She was arrested during the 1968 uprising and sentenced by a Saigon court to 20 years in prison, though she upheld an optimistic spirit in the fight for national independence and freedom. Her glorious smile was photographed by a foreign journalist and became a source of pride for Vietnam. Vo Thi Thang was a former member of the Party Central Committee, deputy to the National Assembly, Chief of the Vietnam Tourism Administration, chairwoman of the Vietnam Cuba Friendship Association and Deputy Chairwoman of the Vietnam Women’s Union. Thang’s death was reported on Cuba’s Radio le Roj who described her as a bridge of friendship linking Vietnam and Cuba. Cuba’s Prensa Latina news agency also published a long article about Vo Thi Thang, who, according to the article, is internationally known for her glorious smile.