Nancy Ling Perry

Nancy Ling Perry
Born	September 19, 1947 San Francisco, USA
Died	May 17, 1974 (aged 26) Los Angeles, USA
Other names	Nancy Devoto Lynn Ledworth Fahizah
Movement	Symbionese Liberation Army

Nancy Ling Perry (September 19, 1947 – May 17, 1974) also known as Nancy Devoto, Lynn Ledworth, and Fahizah, was a member of the Symbionese Liberation Army.

Background

Nancy Ling Perry was born in San Francisco to an upper-middle-class family. She attended Montgomery High School in Santa Rosa, where she was a cheerleader and a Sunday school teacher. In 1964, while in high school, she was a campaign worker for Barry Goldwater. While in high school, Nancy was also involved in Job's Daughters (Bethel #16) and served as their Honored Queen. She began university at Whittier College. After a few semesters at Whittier, however, she transferred to the University of California, Berkeley. At Berkeley she majored in English.

Nancy Ling met African American jazz musician Gilbert Perry when he was working for a state employment office, and the couple were married December 26, 1967. Married for six years, their relationship was described as a "love-hate affair" which ended when Gilbert left Nancy.

Ling Perry worked as a topless blackjack dealer in San Francisco and went through a period of heavy use of psychedelic drugs and amphetamines.

Symbionese Liberation Army

On May 17, 1974, Nancy Ling Perry, along with several members of the SLA, was killed at 1466 East 54th Street, during a shootout with the Los Angeles Police Department. As their hideout burned, Perry and fellow SLA member Camilla Hall exited the back door. Police claimed that Perry came out firing a revolver while Hall fired an automatic pistol. Police shot them both immediately. Perry was shot twice; one shot hit her right lung, the other shot severed her spine. Hall was shot once in the forehead. Investigators working for her parents claimed that Perry had come walking out of the house intending to surrender.^[1]

References

1. Bryan, John. This Soldier Still at War. Harcourt Brace Jovanovich, 1975. ISBN 0-15-190060-4.