The gift from Uncle Ho
At an age rarely seen, the distinguished teacher Hoang Nguyen, former Deputy Principal of Nam Lien Secondary School (now Kim Lien Secondary School, Kim Lien commune, Nghe An province ), is still quite sharp-minded. The small house of the former teacher is always filled with books, newspapers, and teaching materials.
His legs, no longer intact after the war, meant he had to rely on crutches to get around, but the memories of the years he lived, studied, and worked under the light of Ho Chi Minh's ideology have never faded. Whenever he mentions the portrait of President Ho Chi Minh that he gifted to Nam Lien Secondary School in 1969, the old teacher's eyes well up with emotion.
On May 19, 1969, on the occasion of President Ho Chi Minh's 79th birthday, the school received a special gift from Hanoi : a portrait of Uncle Ho accompanied by a simple yet profound message: "Uncle Ho hopes that the teachers will teach well and the students will study well." Along with the portrait was a telegram commending the achievements of the school's teachers and students – a school that had consistently been awarded the title of "Socialist Labor Unit" for many years and had many outstanding students praised by Uncle Ho.
Teacher Nguyen recounted that, at that time, the country was still at war, and transporting letters and artifacts was extremely difficult. The photograph of Uncle Ho was lost for a while on its way back to the local area before finally reaching the school. Ironically, the day the school received this precious gift was also the time when the whole country was plunged into grief upon hearing the news of President Ho Chi Minh's death.
“Back then, portraits of Uncle Ho were very rare. When we received the portrait, the school immediately attached a black mourning band to hold a memorial service for him. The ceremony was attended by the school's management board, teachers, and about twenty students who were descendants of the Nguyen Sinh family,” Mr. Nguyen recalled emotionally.
In the somber atmosphere of September 1969, a portrait of President Ho Chi Minh was placed solemnly in the center of the assembly hall as a sacred representation of his presence in his homeland. After the memorial service, the photograph was hung in the most prominent position in the school's assembly hall.
For generations of teachers and students at Nam Lien Secondary School, it's not simply a portrait, but a symbol reminding them of their responsibility to teach well and learn well, as Uncle Ho advised. As the person who directly received the gift from the higher authorities, Mr. Hoang Nguyen almost became the "photo keeper" for many years.
On every major holiday, weekly flag-raising ceremony, or traditional event, the photograph is taken down for a solemn ritual. Many generations of students who grew up under the roof of that school still vividly remember the image of President Ho Chi Minh's portrait with the loving message inscribed on it.
For a time, officials from the Ho Chi Minh Museum came to the school to verify documents related to the photograph and requested permission to take it to Hanoi for safekeeping to be used in compiling a record of historical artifacts. After about two months, the photograph was returned to the school as before.
However, due to the passage of time, Nam Lien Junior High School was later merged, renamed Kim Lien Junior High School, and moved to a new location. The relocation of records, documents, and artifacts took place in several stages. No one remembers exactly when the photograph was lost.
It was only when the portrait was no longer visible in the traditional exhibition room that people suddenly realized the precious gift from Uncle Ho had been lost. That feeling of regret haunted Teacher Hoang Nguyen for many years.
“This photograph is a priceless memento. It contains President Ho Chi Minh’s words of advice specifically for the teachers and students of our hometown. If it is lost, future generations will no longer know that our school was once honored to receive this photograph and letter of praise from President Ho Chi Minh,” the teacher mused.
Nearly 10 years searching for a picture of Uncle Ho.
For the distinguished teacher Hoang Nguyen, the loss of the portrait of President Ho Chi Minh was a "great loss," and he always felt remorse and wished to find the gift that President Ho Chi Minh had given him. In the 2000s, despite his advanced age, he repeatedly expressed his wish to the school's Board of Directors and local authorities to find the portrait of President Ho Chi Minh. However, too much time had passed, some of the teachers who had worked at Nam Lien Secondary School back then were still alive, others had passed away, and the archived records were scattered in many places.
During his search for "Uncle Ho's picture," he was suggested by officials at the Kim Lien National Special Historical Site to contact the Ho Chi Minh Museum, as the museum had previously visited the school to verify artifacts. In 2017, at over 80 years old, Mr. Nguyen carefully wrote a letter to the leaders of the Ho Chi Minh Museum, explaining his entire story and his wishes. Shortly afterward, the museum responded that they did not possess the original photograph, but would check their relevant archives. From there, what seemed like a hopeless search unexpectedly offered a glimmer of hope.
During the review process, museum staff discovered several valuable documents, including typed manuscripts and two handwritten pages by President Ho Chi Minh concerning the donation of photographs to Nam Lien Secondary School in 1969. Even more significantly, there were four portraits that the secretary had presented to President Ho Chi Minh for selection as a gift to the school. The problem was that no one knew exactly which of these was the photograph that had once been displayed at Nam Lien Secondary School. The museum decided to send all the scanned documents and the four photographs to Mr. Nguyen for verification. "I recognized it immediately," he recounted.
The elderly former teacher spent many days meeting with old colleagues and former students to compare memories. And then they all unanimously agreed that the photograph with the code A169/A-Q2 was the portrait that had been associated with the school years ago.
Accompanying Mr. Nguyen in the journey to restore the precious gift was Mr. Nguyen Vuong Linh, then the Principal of Kim Lien Secondary School (currently the Principal of Dang Chanh Ky Secondary School). After fully identifying the original documents, handwriting, and images, Mr. Linh enlisted the help of friends to restore the portrait as closely as possible to the original.
Distinguished Teacher Hoang Nguyen was born in 1932 in Huong Khe (Ha Tinh province). In his youth, he joined the army, studied at the Tran Quoc Tuan Military Academy, and fought in the resistance war against the French. In May 1954, he was wounded in the Battle of Nui Sam (Phu Yen province), captured by the enemy, and permanently lost his right leg. During his career, he had four widely disseminated initiatives that contributed to Nam Lien Secondary School receiving a Letter of Commendation from President Ho Chi Minh for its teaching and learning achievements. He received numerous Certificates of Merit and Orders, including the Labor Order and the Anti-American Order. In 1988, he was one of the first teachers nationwide to be awarded the title of Distinguished Teacher.
On May 19, 2023, coinciding with the anniversary of President Ho Chi Minh's birthday, the handover ceremony of the restored photograph back to Kim Lien Secondary School was held in a particularly moving atmosphere. Many generations of former teachers and students returned to witness the moment when "Uncle Ho's image" returned to their hometown school. For Mr. Nguyen, it was not only a joy but also a sense of peace after nearly half a lifetime of being burdened by a promise to himself.
A veteran who lost a leg on the battlefield, a teacher who dedicated his life to the classroom, finally fulfilled his wish to find the sacred gift that President Ho Chi Minh sent to his homeland. Perhaps what makes this story special is not the value of a photograph, but the preservation of historical memory with the reverence and unwavering faith of ordinary people.
Throughout his life, Distinguished Teacher Hoang Nguyen always learned from and followed President Ho Chi Minh's example in the simplest ways: dedication to his profession, responsibility to his homeland, and deep concern for the younger generation. And the journey to find the photograph President Ho Chi Minh gifted to Nam Lien Secondary School is also a way for this elderly teacher to preserve the flame of tradition for future generations.
Source: https://tienphong.vn/muoi-nam-di-tim-mon-qua-bac-tang-post1844381.tpo
Comment (0)