Searching for iron, found a box of documents from the anti-American resistance war

Recalling the story 17 years ago, Mr. Trung said that at that time, he and many young men in the neighborhood worked together to find scrap iron to sell to junkyards. Once, while searching for iron in Memot district, Kampong Cham province, Kingdom of Cambodia, he discovered an ammunition box containing many documents and memorabilia from the war against the US.

Ammunition box containing documents from the resistance war picked up by Mr. Vo Tan Trung

“At that time, I was scanning for iron on the tank road, suddenly the iron detector made a sound, signaling that there was an object under the ground. Fearing that I would encounter an anti-tank mine, I called my brother to come and examine it and carefully dig. After digging, I discovered an iron box used to store ammunition. Opening it, I saw many papers inside, so I closed the lid and brought it home,” the man said. After returning home, Mr. Trung opened the ammunition box to look. Inside the box were two neatly arranged white khaki shirts and a nylon bag containing many types of papers and newspapers. Flipping through it, he found many files related to Party work. These papers were all under the name of Le Xuan Phuc, residing in Thieu Toan commune, Thieu Toan district, Thanh Hoa province; rank A chief, position of nurse, working at the S25 Military Medical Department.

It is unclear whether Mr. Le Xuan Phuc is still alive or has died in the resistance war. Realizing that these relics and documents are valuable, Mr. Trung kept them carefully with the hope of returning them to the owner or relatives of Mr. Le Xuan Phuc.

On September 25, 2025, Mr. Trung brought the above mentioned ammunition box out to show us. Although it was carefully preserved, after many years of being affected by factors such as humidity, temperature, etc., the outside of the ammunition box had rusted quite a bit. Opening the lid, Mr. Trung took out two khaki shirts and spread them on the brick floor. Over the years, the shirts had turned gray-yellow and wrinkled.

The khaki shirt in the ammunition box

Mr. Trung said: “When I first brought them home, these two shirts were white and quite new. Seeing that, my brother wanted to wear them, but I didn’t let him.” Mr. Trung added that the first time he took them out, the two shirts were neatly folded, flat like military uniforms. Because he didn’t know how to fold them and take them out many times, the shirts are now wrinkled.

The papers inside the ammunition box had also turned yellow and were covered in wrinkles. Among them, there were some notable documents such as a notebook the size of an adult's hand. The outside of the notebook was decorated with a burning torch, a hammer and sickle flag, the number 3-2 on a red background and the printed text: "Commemorating the 39th anniversary of the Party's founding 1930-1969". In the right corner of the notebook was a neatly written line: "For: Division: 2".

Below is a paragraph: "On the occasion of the Party's founding anniversary, we would like to briefly introduce to you, the Youth comrades, the memorable historical days on the path of maturity and revolutionary leadership of the Vietnam Revolutionary Workers' Party."

On the inside pages, the author summarizes important milestones such as: “May 1, 1930: For the first time, workers, peasants and working classes in Indochina showed signs of solidarity with the world's proletariat by demonstrating their strength on International Labor Day under the leadership of the Party. Hammer and sickle flags, leaflets, and slogans "Workers, peasants and soldiers unite! Proletarians of the world unite" resounded everywhere. The Humanity newspaper - the organ of the French Communist Party - was distributed in all major cities. The atmosphere of International Labor Day on May 1, 1930 was bustling from North to South, from urban to rural areas. And the subsequent struggle movement continued to spread strongly and widely, with the highest peak being Nghe Tinh”.

The notebook was found in the ammunition box.

Next, the author recorded milestones such as September 12, 1930, the Nghe Tinh Soviet was established. In October 1930, the Party Central Committee held its first conference in Hong Kong, with the participation of comrade Nguyen Ai Quoc,...

Another noteworthy document is the Self-Review after studying Uncle Ho's Will. The author wrote: "After studying Uncle Ho's Will, I see that his whole life of great activities and dedication is truly great, his merits are as high as the sky and the sea. Regarding myself, I still have many shortcomings, I have not tried my best to follow Uncle Ho's words."

Similarly, in the 4-good Party Member Registration Form for the last 6 months of 1969, Mr. Le Xuan Phuc carefully wrote: “1. Politics and ideology: A, Absolutely believe in the Party's leadership, believe in the victory of the revolution, personally grasp the Party's strategic determination to fight the Americans to the end... B, State the ideology of not being afraid of sacrifice and hardship, not being discouraged for a long time, ready to accept any task assigned by the Party, always practice the sense of collective mastery, being for everyone..."

Review after studying Uncle Ho's Will

In this box of documents, there is also a document from the Party Committee of Division 50 on guiding the Party Committees and subordinate Party cells on the procedures for admission to the Party and transfer to the Party. These contents are typed on thin cellophane paper. In addition to the above documents, Mr. Trung also showed us a number of other papers and books, some of which showed signs of smoke and scorching.

Mr. Trung said that about 7 years ago, he brought some documents in this ammunition box to the leaders of Tan Thanh Commune People's Committee, asking them to find Mr. Le Xuan Phuc or his relatives to return the box of documents. The Vice Chairman of Tan Thanh Commune People's Committee at that time, Mr. Huynh Tan Hiep, called Thieu Toan Commune, asking them to inquire about information about Mr. Le Xuan Phuc - the owner of these documents, but so far there have been no results. Mr. Trung added: "Over the years, a number of antique collectors have repeatedly come to ask to buy these documents. Feeling that these souvenirs are very meaningful to the owner, so until now, I still refuse to sell"./.

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Source: https://baolongan.vn/ra-sat-nhat-duoc-thung-tai-lieu-thoi-khang-chien-chong-my-a204811.html