(VOVworld) – Before the sun rises, thousands of people stand in the line that stretches more than 1 km from the Ho Chi Minh Mausoleum to General Vo Nguyen Giap’s house at 30 Hoang Dieu street to pay tribute to him. The line keeps growing and moving slowly in grief at the general’s death. Le Phuong sheds light on the strong feelings Vietnamese people have toward Vo Nguyen Giap, one of the greatest generals of Vietnam and the world.
From October 6th to October 10th, tens of thousands of people came from across the country to pay tribute to General Giap at his house. As the funeral day drew near, more and more people kept coming with grief and tears on each face.
It’s hard for everyone to bid farewell to the national hero and each person has a different way of expressing their respect for General Giap. Some carry yellow chrysanthemums, roses, or white orchids. Others hold photos of the general, all bearing the image of a friendly general in their minds. Nguyen Ngoc Theu of Thai ethnicity from Dien Bien, a place closely associated with General Giap, said: “I’m wearing the costume of my ethnic group in the hope that the General will remember the children of Dien Bien and that he will live forever in our hearts.”
Hoang Diep of Hang Bun street in Hanoi wants to convey his feeling for the general with the badges he made and distributed to other mourners. He said: “I was in deep grief when I heard about his death. I took 2 photos of him from the Internet and made badges to be given to others. I will stay here until the mourning period ends. This is how I pay my tribute to General Giap.”
Wearing volunteer shirts, a group of young Canadians waited for 3 hours to pay their tribute. Mathew Gibson, a member of the Canada-Vietnam young volunteer group said: “When we heard the news that the national general died, I decided to come in to pay respect to the General and Vietnam. I think the Vietnamese had a lot of respect and love for the General and you can see with all the people waiting in the line and the emotions when they get inside. I think it’s really amazing.”
Luong Thi Nhung from Lao Cai burst into tears while standing in front of the general’s portrait. She said: “He’s no longer with us and all we can see is his portrait. We’ve closely followed the status of General Giap since he was hospitalized several years ago. The people of Lao Cai always think of him.”
Stories and memories of war veterans and other people about General Giap were quickly repeated among the mourners. In these stories, they call him General Giap, Uncle Giap, Mr. Giap, or Brother Van in a respectful way. Colonel Dang Nghiem Diem said: “I worked with Uncle Giap twice on books of history. The first book was about the 200th anniversary of the Ngoc Hoi-Dong Da victory and the second book was about the resistance against US imperialists by militiamen in Hanoi. I still remember General Giap’s remarks about Emperor Quang Trung and his victory at Ngoc Hoi-Dong Da. General Giap always respected his subordinates’ opinions. He was the big brother of the Vietnam People’s Army, a bright example of morality and talent that we should always follow. His patience is also worth emulating.”
 |
A veteran of the Dien Bien Phu campaign, Le Tien Dung, said he met his commander 5 years ago and the memory of that meeting remains vivid in his mind. He said: “We were very happy because we had not met him for a long time. We took a picture together with the general. We were very moved to visit our commander, who was also our brother and friend.”
The gate of General Giap’s house remained open for 5 days and nights. Those who had already paid tribute to him stayed reluctant to go home. Many people looked over the gate as if hoping to see the General reading a history book or thinking about national matters. They all shared one thought inscribed on their memories: “You will always be around.”