Silent gratitude

More than 20 years of preserving relics

Every time we visit the memorial site of the late General Secretary Le Hong Phong (1902 - 1942) in Hung Thong commune (Hung Nguyen), we often meet a small man diligently cleaning and taking care of the thatched house.

When needed, he can introduce and explain to tourists about the family, hometown and life of the revolutionary predecessor. His name is Le Van Ngu (born in 1949), a disabled soldier with 61% disability, a nephew of the late General Secretary Le Hong Phong, who has been guarding the relic for 23 years.

“Now the Memorial is built on a large scale, has a Management Board, and has people to take care of the flower garden and ornamental plants. In the past, I was in charge of most of the work, because of family tradition and the responsibility of a party member, I was willing to take on the work.”

Mr. Le Van Ngu - the caretaker of the thatched house and artifacts of the family of the late General Secretary Le Hong Phong

It is worth mentioning that at that time, the Memorial Site was managed by the People's Committee of Hung Nguyen district, with limited funding, so the initial allowance was only 20,000 VND, then increased to 30,000 VND, then 50,000 VND. Later, the Memorial Site was managed by the Provincial Monuments and Landscapes Management Board, and the allowance was increased, currently at 1.6 million VND.

For over 20 years, Mr. Le Van Ngu has been taking care of the thatched house in the memorial site of late General Secretary Le Hong Phong. Photo: Cong Kien

Mr. Le Van Ngu's task is to look after and protect the thatched house and artifacts of the late General Secretary Le Hong Phong's family. The work does not seem too heavy, during the day he just has to sweep the house and yard, wipe dust off artifacts, and burn incense on death anniversaries and Tet; at night he sleeps in the room in front of the gate.

But in fact, this job requires patience and dedication. On hot or stormy days, Mr. Ngu does not dare to sleep. In the hot season, the risk of fire is high, the pump is always ready, not to mention the buckets of water placed around; during the day he is often present, at night he does not dare to sleep, hanging a hammock in front to lie down and watch. In the rainy season, especially on stormy days, he has to brace the house, stay on duty day and night, waiting for the storm to pass before he can breathe a sigh of relief.

The most memorable memory was when I first started the job, I introduced and explained to a guest who came here to learn more. Unexpectedly, that guest said: "Hung Thong people's explanation about the late General Secretary Le Hong Phong is not as good as Hanoi people's. That statement has haunted me forever."

Mr. Le Van Ngu shared

Since then, Mr. Ngu has searched for more documents, books and newspapers about comrade Le Hong Phong to read, research and supplement his presentation to make it more comprehensive and answer questions from visitors.

Mr. Le Van Ngu takes care of the altar in the house of the late General Secretary Le Hong Phong. Photo: Cong Kien

At the age of 70, Mr. Le Van Ngu still works diligently with the sentiment and responsibility of a family member and clan member towards his ancestors. And also the responsibility of a communist (Mr. Ngu is currently 51 years old in the Party) towards his predecessor who sacrificed his life for the revolutionary cause.

Work with gratitude

Throughout the province, there are many people who are wholeheartedly and devotedly taking care of the graves in the martyrs’ cemeteries. Each person has a different condition and situation, but they share the same job and the same heart, representing the people to take care of the souls of the fallen.

A typical example is Mr. Nguyen Van Loi (born in 1950) - the person who has been looking after and taking care of the monument and graves of 28 martyrs who died in the Nghe - Tinh Soviet movement in Ngoc Tan hamlet, Dien Ngoc commune (Dien Chau) for over 20 years.

It is worth mentioning here that Mr. Loi is a severely disabled veteran with a 98% disability rate, both legs are gone, and his body is covered with wounds. However, in 1995, when the Memorial and the tomb of 28 Soviet martyrs of Nghe Tinh were completed, Mr. Loi wrote a letter of volunteering to take care of them.

Staff of the Vietnam - Laos International Martyrs Cemetery Management Board and soldiers of Regiment 335 take care of martyrs' graves. Photo: Cong Kien

Over the past 24 years, thanks to Mr. Loi's care, the 5,000m2 monument area is now truly clean, beautiful and sacred with more than 100 fruit trees providing shade. Next to it are flower beds that are fragrant and blooming, all of which he dug the soil, cultivated the beds, sowed seeds, weeded, pruned the branches and meticulously cared for.

“As a severely disabled veteran, I have received preferential treatment from the State, my wife also receives an allowance, and my children are grown up, so I decided to do this job to relieve my boredom, contribute to beautifying and showing gratitude to those who have fallen for their homeland and country.”

Mr. Nguyen Van Loi (born in 1950) - relic caretaker

And, we also met and shared with the people who are responsible for taking care of nearly 11,000 graves at the Vietnam - Laos International Martyrs Cemetery (Anh Son). The cemetery is large in scale, with a large campus (nearly 7 hectares), while the staff is only 6-7 people, so taking care of and welcoming relatives is really hard.

The organizers of the Miss Vietnam 2018 contest, along with a group of 9 beauties out of 25 contestants from the Northern region, and the Youth Union members of Anh Son district take care of the graves at the Vietnam-Laos Cemetery. Photo courtesy of Hoang Hao

As for Mr. Nguyen Sy Sau, he has 15 years of experience in managing the list of martyrs' graves, so he knows clearly the location and number of about 3,000 graves with full information and 500 graves without information. His house is nearly 40 km from his workplace, and he only visits his family on his days off. However, there are days when he just got home and was having dinner when he received a call that his relatives had come to do the procedures to move the graves back to his hometown. So, he left his meal and drove back to do the procedures for his relatives to dig up the martyrs' graves, as if he had no day off with his family.

These days, society is actively organizing activities to pay tribute to families of revolutionaries, heroes and martyrs. The managers of memorial sites and cemeteries are also diligently taking care of incense. The work is quiet and silent, but it has added to the beauty of gratitude and the morality of "When drinking water, remember its source".