Recalling the times I met Uncle Ho

(Baonghean)Despite being 87 years old and a Party member for over 68 years, Mr. Nguyen Kho, a pre-revolution cadre currently living in Dong Hieu commune, Thai Hoa town, remains lucid and remembers vividly every detail of his encounters with and service to President Ho Chi Minh…

It was 1952, and while serving as the Head of the Administrative Department of the Phu Quy Plantation, Mr. Nguyen Kho was sent to Viet Bac for training. At the end of the course, the training class held a closing conference, and President Ho Chi Minh visited and spoke to the attendees. This was the first time he had met President Ho, so Mr. Kho remembered his advice for the rest of his life. President Ho instructed: "You must strive to produce and supply as much food as possible for the soldiers fighting on the battlefield."

Mr. Nguyen Kho.

On his second meeting with President Ho in Hanoi, Mr. Nguyen Kho recounted: “At that time, I was a cadre of the Phu Quy Plantation Regiment, sent to attend a political training course, and then the Central Committee assigned me to the team responsible for taking over the capital. Before the troops entered to liberate the capital, President Ho met with the cadres. At the meeting, he instructed: 'You must not compare the value of participating in the resistance war; even a thousand gold coins cannot compare.'"

The third time he met President Ho Chi Minh was in his capacity as Head of the Administrative and Organizational Department of the Dong Hieu State Farm. At that time, Mr. Nguyen Kho was assigned by the province to escort three National Assembly delegates from Nghe An province in the 2nd term: Delegate Hoang Cong Tuu (Nghia Dan), Hoang Anh (a Hero of Labor from Yen Thanh), and Tran Kim Manh, a delegate from the Dong Hieu State Farm, to Hanoi for the National Assembly session. At the end of the session, at the Presidential Palace, President Ho Chi Minh met with the delegates. To this day, Mr. Kho still remembers every gesture and every kind and approachable action of President Ho Chi Minh. The reception was a simple and economical standing reception. At the table, everyone was surprised to see that some of the candies and snacks were already opened, while others were still in their original packaging. While eating, President Ho Chi Minh went to each table and instructed: “These are all ours. The opened packages are for our celebration, and the unopened ones are for taking home as gifts for those back home!”

Mr. Kho confided: "I have many memories of meeting Uncle Ho, but the most profound was the day I had the opportunity to welcome and directly serve him when he visited the Dong Hieu State Farm on December 10, 1961. At 11:30 a.m., lunch was laid out on the table with a variety of dishes. Uncle Ho sat down and happily invited everyone to eat. He took out a package, carefully wrapped in newspaper, and opened it to find rice mixed with corn, while the rice offered to him and everyone else was plain. Seeing this, no one dared to eat. Uncle Ho immediately said: 'Comrade Dong, Comrade Khai, Comrade Manh (the Farm Director), please invite everyone to eat. I'll eat too; I prepared this meal before I left.' Then he turned to ask: 'Comrade Manh, are these dishes produced by the farm itself?' Comrade Manh replied: 'On the occasion of your visit, the farm organized a meal, a kind of "homegrown" meal, to invite you and the comrades.'" I reported to Uncle Ho that all of these products are produced entirely by the farm itself!

As soon as Comrade Mạnh finished speaking, Uncle Ho smiled happily and slowly asked, "So you can produce salt too?" Before Comrade Mạnh could reply, everyone burst into laughter, expressing their agreement, joy, and feeling the warmth, wit, closeness, and intimacy of Uncle Ho.

Before leaving the farm to board the plane back to Hanoi, the farm presented Uncle Ho with 5 kg of coffee, 2 bottles of honey, and 5 early-season oranges. When Comrade Manh, the farm director, reported this to Uncle Ho, he immediately asked: "Whose products are these? Are you giving them to me from the farm? Are you embezzling them? Keep them, export them!" Comrade Manh replied that the coffee belonged to the farm, but the workers, having increased productivity, had used their bonus money to buy the coffee as a gift for Uncle Ho. As for the honey, the workers produced it themselves, so they offered it to Uncle Ho. As soon as Comrade Manh finished speaking, Uncle Ho said: "Keep the coffee for export. I'll take the two bottles of honey. But I'll give them to the farm leaders for the year-end competition; those with outstanding achievements will be rewarded." Then Uncle Ho put the three oranges in his pocket. At the car, two Soviet pilots were waiting for him to board the plane back to Hanoi. Uncle Ho took out the three oranges from his pocket and said:

- This man already has a wife and children. Uncle, I'm giving you two fruits so you can give one to your wife and one to your child.

- This guy isn't married yet, so I'm giving him one to give to his girlfriend.

The two pilots were deeply moved and delighted to receive the oranges with heartfelt respect and gratitude...

Fifty-three years have passed, but the memories of directly serving Uncle Ho remain etched in his heart. Mr. Nguyen Kho always reminds his descendants to constantly learn from Uncle Ho's love for his homeland and his character as a Vietnamese person—simple yet infinitely pure.

Ho Van Hao

Thai Hoa Town Party Committee

(Recorded based on the account of Mr. Nguyen Kho, a pre-revolution cadre)