(Baonghean.vn) - Returning from the smoke-filled battlefield, the "gifts" that veteran Nguyen Huu Thuong (Hamlet 1, Hung Thong Commune, Hung Nguyen District) brought back to his hometown were everyday items made from bomb fragments, shell casings, and aircraft wreckage. These mementos are considered priceless possessions by the 83-year-old veteran.
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| Having studied mechanical engineering, when he joined the army (in 1969), Mr. Thuong took advantage of his free time to transform shrapnel, bomb casings, and other destructive weapons of the enemy into everyday household items such as coffee filters, tables and chairs, lunch boxes, pots and pans, etc. |
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| The thermos flask is made entirely from flare tubes. Engraved on its body are commemorative inscriptions, the time and place where the flask was made, along with two lines of poetry: "Bomb fragments pieced together to form a tray, sweetness to compensate for much bitterness." |
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| The table and chair, made from the wreckage of airplanes and bomb casings, are now the daily study area for Mr. Thuong's granddaughter. |
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| The small table has three legs made from bomb casings, with a clutch disc in the middle. |
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| The seat was made from an F105 aircraft wing and a cluster bomb casing. |
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| Every detail is carefully forged and shaped. |
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| The chair's frame is decorated with holes that form the initials of his name and his wife, Phan Thi Man. |
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| The dining table that Mr. Thuong's family uses every day is also made from a bomb casing. |
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| Beneath the tabletop are four wings that were previously used to suspend eight magnetic bombs. |
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| The sturdy table legs were also meticulously crafted by him. |
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| Items such as ladles, spoons, pots, lunch boxes, etc., are also made of stainless steel in aircraft or flare tubes. |
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| Each item is meticulously engraved with the time and quite beautiful symbols. |
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| The tray was made from 130mm Soviet shell casings, and he crafted it with great care. |
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| The Vietnamese coffee filter is made from a ball-bearing tube and is very skillfully crafted. |
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| "Bomb fragments pieced together to form a tray / Sweetness to compensate for the bitterness of so much suffering" is what Mr. Thuong said about the items he created from weapons of mass destruction. |
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| Water tray |
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| Mr. Thuong said: "These items have been so familiar to my family for decades. They evoke memories, of my comrades, and of my time as a soldier. To me, they are priceless possessions, one of a kind in the world." |
Wang Yun
