The person who "extends" history through each page of documents

(QBĐT) - President Ho Chi Minh has been gone for more than half a century, but the hearts of generations of Vietnamese people are still always turned towards him with all gratitude, love and remembrance. From feelings turned into actions, over the past decades, many people have quietly collected and preserved images, articles and documents about President Ho Chi Minh with the desire to further spread the image and contributions of the father of the nation, as well as the history of the Vietnamese revolution to future generations.

Báo Quảng Bình•19/05/2025

Selecting beautiful photos, cutting them out from old newspapers and storing them carefully. That is the work that Mr. Nguyen Dinh Phong, in Tan An village, Quang Thanh commune (Quang Trach) has been doing for over 50 years. Although he is now old and his health is much weaker, he still diligently collects paintings, photos and documents about President Ho Chi Minh , as well as documents about the history of the Vietnamese revolution.

Mr. Nguyen Dinh Phong was once a soldier serving in the 559th Division - Truong Son Road. In 1969, after President Ho Chi Minh passed away, because of missing him, Mr. Phong searched for and kept his photos. Day by day, his collection became larger, thicker and more valuable in terms of information and images.

Mr. Phong pensively recounted: “I collect these images first of all because of my love for Uncle Ho, and secondly to preserve them for future generations. I only hope that, through these images, history will be preserved in the most authentic images... In the 70s and 80s of the last century, newspapers were not widely circulated among the masses. I often asked friends for pictures of Uncle Ho, and if I couldn't get them, I would buy them. Many friends knew that I collected pictures, photos, and documents about Uncle Ho, so they brought them to me as gifts. Thanks to that, my collection became larger and richer.”

With each photo, Mr. Phong painstakingly sews and glues it to a large piece of cloth, with a specific caption underneath each photo. There are dozens of large and small photos, both black and white and color, attached to each piece of cloth according to each historical period. Each piece of cloth, after being attached with a photo, will become a small collection. Not only collecting photos of Uncle Ho, he also keeps photos and documents about General Vo Nguyen Giap, heroic Vietnamese mothers, heroic martyrs, the history of the Communist Party of Vietnam , the history of the Quang Trach District Party Committee, etc.

He shared: “After many years of storage, I came up with the idea of pasting the photos onto large pieces of cloth for mobile display for officials, people, especially students to see. Now, my collection is like a miniature “museum”, students can come to see and learn about the revolutionary life of President Ho Chi Minh as well as the revolutionary history of Vietnam”.

With his collection, Mr. Nguyen Dinh Phong hopes that today's young generation will understand history and love their homeland and country more.

After many years of diligently collecting, Mr. Nguyen Dinh Phong cannot count how many photos he has personally attached to the cloth. Along with that are many documents, books and newspapers that he keeps in the cabinet. And likewise, Mr. Nguyen Dinh Phong's "treasure" cannot be measured by material value, because it is the love and respect of the old veteran for President Ho Chi Minh, as well as gratitude for the heroic history of the country.

What is more wonderful is that his collection has contributed to spreading the love of homeland and country to the community, especially the young generation. Mr. Nguyen Hue, Deputy Secretary of the Party Committee of Quang Thanh commune, said: “The collection that Mr. Nguyen Dinh Phong has worked hard to create over the years is also a valuable asset of Quang Thanh homeland, representing the feelings of Quang Thanh people towards the beloved father of the nation. On the occasions of commemorating the homeland and country, Quang Thanh commune has many times used this collection to display for the people and students to see and learn. Thereby, contributing to political education, ideology, revolutionary tradition education, fostering patriotism and national pride for local children”.

With the tireless hands and silence of Mr. Nguyen Dinh Phong, history is being "extended" through each page of documents, helping the younger generation not to forget the past, because today's peace is built from the blood and sacrifice of previous generations.

Le Thuy

Source: https://baoquangbinh.vn/van-hoa/202505/nguoi-noi-dai-lich-su-qua-tung-trang-tu-lieu-2226377/