Intact memories of Him

These days, when many activities have been organized throughout the province to celebrate the 77th anniversary of Uncle Ho's first visit to Thanh Hoa (February 20, 1947 - February 20, 2024), memories of the times meeting beloved Uncle Ho seem to come alive in the hearts of those who had the honor of meeting, listening to Uncle Ho's conversation and advice. These are priceless memories preserved by witnesses and passed on to today's generation through their stories.

Intact memories of Him Ms. Vu Thi Kim Lan (Phu Son ward, Thanh Hoa city) recalls the memory of meeting Uncle Ho. Photo: To Phuong

One morning in February, we went to Phu Son apartment building (Thanh Hoa city) to meet Ms. Vu Thi Kim Lan - the person who met Uncle Ho three times. I felt the emotion rising in my heart when listening to her talk about the times she met Uncle Ho. In her memories, Ms. Lan recalled: “In 1957, I was honored to represent Thanh Hoa Commerce Department to attend the meeting to welcome Uncle Ho to Thanh Hoa for the second time. In 1960, I met Uncle Ho again at the 6th Congress of Thanh Hoa Provincial Trade Union. That day, I was a delegate at the congress so I got to meet Uncle Ho. When Uncle Ho appeared, the whole hall was happy and excited. When Uncle Ho spoke, everyone listened attentively.”

Meeting Uncle Ho once made me very happy, but Mrs. Lan was more honored to meet Uncle Ho three times and the third time was the time that left the most emotions in her heart. She said: “In 1961, President Ho Chi Minh visited Thanh Hoa for the 4th time. At that time, I was in charge of the Lien Co canteen under the Provincial Party Committee Office. After Uncle Ho and the provincial leaders visited Yen Truong Cooperative, that same evening, we - the people working at the Lien Co canteen were invited to listen to Uncle Ho speak. The provincial leaders sat above, we sat below. Then Uncle Ho asked: "Are the ladies and gentlemen serving in the canteen here?". I was both happy and trembling as I stood up and answered: "Yes, Uncle, we are here". Uncle Ho called all 7 people up to the hall and gave each of us 2 candies. We happily thanked Uncle Ho and went down. At the end of the meeting that day, I brought 2 candies and proudly showed them to my children and told them that the country was still in danger, they had to join the fight against the enemy and my 2 sons listened to their mother and fulfilled their duty to the Fatherland".

With a carefully recorded notebook, naval soldier Hoang Tien Luc, Hoang Son commune (Hoang Hoa) still remembers clearly the words Uncle Ho told him when he visited Battalion 135 at Van Hoa port ( Quang Ninh ). On November 13, 1962, Mr. Luc's Battalion 135 was visited by Uncle Ho. At 8:00 a.m., a helicopter slowly landed, Uncle Ho appeared simply in a mahogany brown suit, a wide-brimmed hat and old rubber sandals. During the conversation with the unit, Uncle Ho told him many things, but Mr. Luc remembered most the lesson about solidarity that Uncle Ho related from the watch. Mr. Luc said: “After specific questions about the watch, Uncle Ho started to relate it to the ship and the unit. Uncle Ho said: A ship, a unit has many different parts, some people work underwater, some people work on shore. If people on the ship want to go ashore, and people on shore want to get off the ship, can the unit be strong? Therefore, you must work with peace of mind, every job is important and glorious. From the watch, Uncle Ho instructed the entire unit to do well 4 things: Must raise vigilance and be ready to fight; must unite internally, unite the army and people; must preserve ships, weapons and combat equipment; must actively participate in production, improve life”. The most impressive thing for Mr. Luc was that noon, it was time to eat but still no one brought food to Uncle Ho. Mr. Luc and a few others were sent by the unit to prepare a meal for Uncle Ho, but while they were working, they saw a helicopter arrive. He was assigned to take the helicopter to bring food to the ship for Uncle Ho. Uncle Ho's meal consisted of only salted eggplant, fried pork with shrimp paste, and a slice of braised fish, very simple. After that meeting, naval soldier Hoang Tien Luc never had the chance to meet Uncle Ho again. Seven years later, when he heard that Uncle Ho had passed away, he and 200 outstanding officers and soldiers of the navy were honored to attend his funeral at the historic Ba Dinh Square.

In the story told by Mrs. Hoang Thi Hong, from Hoang Son commune, the moment she saw Uncle Ho and heard his advice is something she has never forgotten. After the victory of the resistance war against French colonialism, in 1957, Thanh Hoa people were honored to welcome Uncle Ho back to visit. Uncle Ho had a talk with cadres and people of all walks of life in the province. Each commune sent a few representatives to attend the meeting to welcome Uncle Ho. Ms. Hong recalled: “At that time, I was the leader of the agricultural production team of Liem hamlet, together with Mr. Luan and Mr. Lu, the three representatives chosen by the commune, so I felt very proud. During the talk with the cadres and people of all walks of life in the province, Uncle Ho praised and acknowledged the great contributions of the army and people of Thanh Hoa to the resistance war against the French colonialists, especially the historic Dien Bien Phu campaign. Not only praising, Uncle Ho also criticized some shortcomings of the cadres and people of Thanh Hoa that had not been performed well and he wanted Thanh Hoa to do well some tasks regarding land reform, production development, flood and storm prevention...”. Those were very specific instructions, so when she returned to her locality, Ms. Hong disseminated them to everyone in the village and commune to implement together. Taking Uncle Ho's instructions to heart, Ms. Hong and the members of Liem hamlet at that time tried their best to compete and strive to complete their production tasks well, ensuring the lives of farmers.

The further away the time goes, the more meaningful and profound the event of Uncle Ho's first visit to Thanh Hoa becomes, especially for those who have met and listened to him talk. His profound teachings have become a great source of encouragement and motivation for living witnesses who, despite their advanced age, still try to pass on to the younger generation a better understanding of the simple life of President Ho - the genius leader of the Vietnamese people.

To Phuong

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