"In 2013, my father passed away. On his deathbed, his last wish was to look at and place his hand on the radio - a gift from General Vo Nguyen Giap. With his labored breath, he told his children and grandchildren to preserve this keepsake carefully," Mr. Lo Van Bien recalled.
At the stilt house at the end of Bua village of Mr. Lo Van Bien (67 years old, former Secretary of the Party Committee of Muong Phang commune), there is a souvenir that is kept by the family as a treasure, which is a red cassette radio. This radio becomes special because of the story it carries... Mr. Bien recalls, the story began in 2004 when General Vo Nguyen Giap returned to visit the revolutionary base of Muong Phang ( Dien Bien Phu city, Dien Bien province). The atmosphere of the 50th anniversary of Dien Bien Phu Victory at that time was even more bustling because of the appearance of General Vo Nguyen Giap - the commander of the campaign.
Mr. Lo Van Bien recalls memories of his father and General Vo Nguyen Giap. Photo: Le Anh Dung
Thai, Kinh, and Mong people gathered early in the morning. They brought rice balls and waited to meet their hero. During this return, the General spent a lot of time meeting, visiting, and encouraging the people. The General also showed his affection for the people of this land with small gifts, including a red radio for Mr. Lo Van Bong.
General Vo Nguyen Giap gave a radio to Mr. Lo Van Bong in 2004. Photo: Family documents provided
"In 2013, my father passed away. When he passed away, his wish was to look at and put his hand on the radio for the last time. With a heavy breath, he told his children and grandchildren to preserve this keepsake carefully. Every day, I take out the radio to clean it. It has been 20 years, the radio has been with my family as an indispensable part...", Mr. Bien said. According to Mr. Bien, the gift is a word of gratitude for Mr. Bong's contributions to the Dien Bien Phu Campaign, because at that time, Mr. Bong was the person in charge of grasping the situation in Muong Phang, then transmitting information to General Vo Nguyen Giap. Recounting his father's path to the Dien Bien Phu Campaign, Mr. Bien shared that in 1952, Mr. Bong joined the commune militia. A year later, he joined the commune police force when French soldiers parachuted into Dien Bien. Those days were difficult but also full of pride, when he participated in transporting food for the troops.
Mr. Bien's family greatly appreciates the gift from General Vo Nguyen Giap. Photo: Le Anh Dung
Mr. Bien shared: "My father said that before, the family was very poor, working for hire all day but still could not make enough to live. Hunger and cold were always present. At that time, my father was taken in by Mr. Lo Van Hac called him to go as a porter. But when he left, my father found out that he was actually transporting food for the army." During this process, many people gave up halfway, but Mr. Bong was still diligent in his work. After working for a while, seeing that Mr. Bong was honest and hard-working, Mr. Lo Van Hac very confident. "From then on, my father had the additional task of capturing all information in the area, then finding a way to transmit the news to General Vo Nguyen Giap who was operating secretly," said Mr. Bien. Mr. Bien was born and raised with his father's stories about the heroic Dien Bien Phu battle. That story remained in the family until 2013 when Mr. Bong passed away. The red radio also became a special souvenir carrying his feelings for General Vo Nguyen Giap, carrying the pride of Dien Bien. Moreover, this souvenir is also a testament to the feelings of a generation of Vietnamese people who together created the Dien Bien Phu Victory. Mr. Lo Van Hac was a leader of the Thai ethnic group in Dien Bien who was early enlightened about the revolution, followed the Party, followed Uncle Ho to protect the "heavenly village", against the domination of the French colonialists and the cruel patriarch Deo Van Long. His life was closely linked to the history of resistance against foreign invaders and the struggle of the ethnic groups in the Northwest. Especially in the Dien Bien Phu Campaign, after settling in a new position in Muong Phang, Deputy Director of the General Department of Logistics and Director of Campaign Logistics Dang Kim Giang held a meeting with representatives of agencies of Lai Chau province (including 12 people), headed by Mr. Lo Van Hac, Chairman of the Thai - Meo Autonomous Region. The two sides agreed on how to direct and operate the work of mobilizing maximum forces to ensure logistics, especially requiring the locality to immediately organize frontline civilian labor units, youth volunteers to open roads, transport food, ammunition, and medicine with means of transport such as carts, horses, and shoulder poles to serve the campaign's requirements. The harmonious coordination and mutual trust between the commanders of the two military logistics forces and the people's logistics forces, between Mr. Dang Kim Giang and Lo Van Hac, became close and exemplary during the more than 90 days that led to the victorious end of the Dien Bien Phu Campaign.
Vietnamnet.vn
Source: https://vietnamnet.vn/mon-qua-cua-tuong-giap-ma-cu-ong-xem-la-bau-vat-2273524.html#
Comment (0)