Mr. Danh Hoai Riem, Head of Hamlet 6, was very happy to recognize us. He excitedly said: "Hamlet 6 today not only has a spacious infrastructure but the people's lives are also very prosperous, especially the Khmer ethnic people...".

Mr. Ut Thuan, whom we went to great lengths to find 15 years ago, is Do Minh Thuan, born in 1961. Mr. Ut Thuan is the youngest son of Mr. Do Van Bien (Ba Bien), who donated most of his garden land to build a number of agencies of the U Minh Base Area, including the living and working area of comrade Vo Van Kiet (later Prime Minister ) during the period of 1971-1974 in the U Minh Base Area. Mr. Ba Bien's family had hidden cadres for many periods, so when asked to temporarily borrow the embankment area to make a base, he was very willing. "Back then, the mosquitoes were very fierce, so the house where Uncle Kiet lived (Mr. Thuan later found out - PV) was built on a banana grove, surrounded by a screen, and next to it was a fairly solid bomb and artillery shelter," Mr. Ut Thuan recalled.

Mr. Pham Van Nghiep and his wife review photos and memorabilia of the late General Secretary Le Duan.
Mr. Do Minh Thuan (far left) with a souvenir, a cement jar.

50 years after the country's reunification, the landscape of Khanh Hoa commune in particular and U Minh district in general has changed a lot, but the affection and loyalty to the Party and the revolution of the people here are still as strong as ever. Continuing the family tradition, Mr. Ut Thuan donated 2 hectares of land to build the relic site where comrade Vo Van Kiet lives and works today. Another story is that in the past, Mr. Thuan kept a souvenir that was closely associated with his life, which was a cement jar used as a shelter, which was personally given to him by Mr. Tran Quoc Anh (Chin Anh) - a bodyguard of comrade Vo Van Kiet. In 2023, officers of the Military Region 9 Museum came to Mr. Ut Thuan's house to collect artifacts for display. He thought it would be difficult for Mr. Ut Thuan to agree to the precious souvenir, but when he understood that the collection was to preserve it for future generations, he immediately nodded.

Leaving Mr. Ut Thuan's house, following the spacious, clean road along the Cai Tau River, we found the house of Mr. Pham Van Nghiep in Rach Chuoi hamlet, Hamlet 2, Nguyen Phich commune, U Minh district. Mr. Pham Van Nghiep is the youngest son of Mr. Pham Van Mau. The house that Mr. Nghiep inherited from his father was one of the places where comrade Le Duan (later General Secretary) was hidden during his revolutionary activities in Ca Mau. Behind Mr. Nghiep's house, there is still a bamboo fence, in the middle of the fence is a mound of earth that used to be a hut and a secret bunker where Mr. Mau used to hide comrade Le Duan. Mr. Nghiep said: “At that time, I was still young, I only remember a period of time when my parents and sister brought food to the cadres who were staying in the garden of the house. It was not until after the liberation, when a group of cadres from Hanoi came to survey and when General Secretary Le Duan visited Minh Hai province (now Ca Mau and Bac Lieu provinces) he sent someone to take my father to Ca Mau town to meet the families who had taken care of him, that I fully understood. Before he passed away, my father instructed that at all costs we must preserve the bamboo fence where Uncle Duan's secret bunker used to be. Fulfilling my father's last wish, I have kept that garden intact until now...”.

Article and photos: PHONG PHU

* Readers are invited to visit the 50th Anniversary of the Great Victory of Spring 1975 section to see related news and articles.

    Source: https://www.qdnd.vn/phong-su-dieu-tra/ky-su/son-sat-u-minh-826026