I'm from the South and I'm visiting President Ho Chi Minh's Mausoleum.

Báo Long An•04/06/2023

Ho Chi Minh Mausoleum is a place many people from the South wish to visit at least once (Photo: Provided by the interviewee).

1. Having overcome many difficulties, Tran Anh Tuan, Vice Chairman of the Veterans Association of Chau Thanh District, Long An Province, thought nothing could make him cry. But no, during the moment of visiting President Ho Chi Minh's Mausoleum, the veteran couldn't hold back his emotions. “Under the soft light, in a sufficiently solemn and dignified space, with the slow-moving crowd, seeing President Ho Chi Minh inside the mausoleum, my heart suddenly overflowed with emotion. My love for him surged within me as I saw before me the image of the Father of the Nation, the man who sacrificed his entire life for our country. I just wanted to linger longer to see him more clearly. I heard sobbing in the group. Surely everyone was moved, because I believe that in the heart of every Vietnamese person, there is love, respect, and honor for President Ho Chi Minh because of his devotion to the nation and its people,” shared veteran Tran Anh Tuan.

For veteran Tran Anh Tuan, peace is precious, the historic Ba Dinh Square is a sacred place, and visiting President Ho Chi Minh's mausoleum is an honor, fulfilling a lifelong dream.

For the veteran, the sacred emotion didn't just come at the moment of seeing Uncle Ho. The moment he set foot in Ba Dinh Square, where Uncle Ho read the Declaration of Independence, giving birth to the Democratic Republic of Vietnam, a profound emotion welled up in his heart. Having dedicated his youth to the peace of the country and fulfilled his duty to his homeland, he understood the sacredness of Independence Day. At 18, after taking the university entrance exam, Tran Anh Tuan answered the call of his homeland and enlisted in the army. When his university acceptance letter arrived, although he was eager to attend university, he decided to temporarily put his dream of studying on hold. During the Southwest border war, Mr. Tuan volunteered on the front lines, serving alongside his comrades in international duty in a foreign country until he received his discharge order to return home and continue his studies.

Having faced life and death on the battlefield, Mr. Tuan cherishes peace, considers the historic Ba Dinh Square a sacred place, and visiting the Ho Chi Minh Mausoleum a lifelong honor and fulfillment of his aspirations. Mr. Tuan shared: “That time, knowing I would be visiting the Mausoleum the next morning, I was restless and couldn’t sleep the night before, longing for dawn. The moment I set foot in the square, I felt an indescribable emotion welling up inside me. My feelings were like those in the poem 'Visiting the Ho Chi Minh Mausoleum.' After the trip, I felt empowered to perform my duties even better.”

2. Emotion is the common feeling among the people from the South who visit President Ho Chi Minh's Mausoleum. The sacred moment of seeing President Ho Chi Minh makes each person more aware of their role and responsibility in building their homeland.

Mr. Dang Vu Khanh during his visit to President Ho Chi Minh's Mausoleum (Photo: Provided by the interviewee)

During his time attending the Advanced Political Theory course at the Ho Chi Minh National Political Academy in Hanoi, Dang Vu Khanh, Deputy Secretary of the Can Duoc District Youth Union, had the opportunity to visit President Ho Chi Minh's Mausoleum once again. Although it was his second visit, the feeling remained as vivid as the first. Khanh shared: “When I saw President Ho Chi Minh lying there, his benevolent face, his long beard, his white hair, I wished time would stop so I could gaze at him a little longer. That moment was truly moving and sacred. I understood more about the nation's history, about how President Ho Chi Minh sacrificed his entire life for the country. From then on, I promised myself to resolutely improve myself, enhance my moral character, political acumen, and professional skills to better fulfill my duties and contribute to building a prosperous and strong homeland, as President Ho Chi Minh instructed.”

Mr. Khanh is an exemplary Youth Union official with many achievements during his career. Regardless of his position or role, he has always been energetic and has developed many effective and practical models that benefit the local community in general and young people in particular: the "Young Sprouts Supermarket," "Accompanying Children to School," "Children's Vegetable Garden," "Stone Benches with Messages," etc. For Mr. Khanh, participating in the Advanced Political Theory course in Hanoi and visiting the Ho Chi Minh Mausoleum was an opportunity to improve himself so that upon returning to his unit, he could work better and contribute more.

Thanks to his study trip to Hanoi, Khanh learned more about the daily flag-raising and flag-lowering ceremonies at the Ho Chi Minh Mausoleum. Although it's a familiar ritual, it always receives the attention and anticipation of the people of the capital. During his time in Hanoi, Khanh also made sure to wake up early and go to Ba Dinh Square to watch the flag-raising ceremony. "That moment was truly meaningful and sacred to me. Looking at the national flag fluttering, I thought about the heroes who fell for the country, about the pain and losses left behind by the war that still remain, and felt boundless gratitude. Waking up early to go to Ba Dinh Square to exercise and watch the flag-raising ceremony there, we will feel love for our country, love for life, love for ourselves, love for the place we live, and love for the word 'peace' even more," Khanh shared.

During his lifetime, President Ho Chi Minh once said, "The South is in my heart," and the South, too, has always held him in high esteem. No matter how many years pass, the image of President Ho Chi Minh remains deeply etched in the hearts of the people of the South in particular, and the entire nation in general, with boundless reverence.

Thu Lam

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