The last footage of Uncle Ho's life

(Baonghean.vn) - The cameraman himself had to wait 20 years to see the footage he recorded of Uncle Ho's last moments.

It has been nearly 50 years, but Major Nguyen Thanh Xuan (Lien Son 1 hamlet, Kim Lien commune, Nam Dan) still feels emotional when talking about old films. Those are films about Uncle Ho's life that he made while working in the documentation department, Army film studio.

Special Mission

That was the job he was assigned in the last weeks of August 1969. At that time, he had been a cameraman for the Army Film Studio's archives for 4 years. The order sent down from the General Political Department was very simple: arrange for two cameramen to do a special mission.

During the war, sudden mobilizations were not uncommon. But the mission was kept secret even by the leadership, so they could not help but worry. After a few days of anxiety, at 12 midnight, they were finally ordered to leave immediately. They brought with them two of the most modern cameras at that time, including a Soviet Con-vat and a Chinese HP camera.

Major Nguyen Thanh Xuan with old photos of his time working at the Army film studio. Photo: SH

Surprisingly, the group's destination that day was the Presidential Palace. Upon arrival, he and cameraman Tran Van Tra and driver Hoang Hai (who was also in charge of lighting) were taken to a house near Uncle Ho's stilt house.

In the first few days, seeing many people coming and going, they felt that something was wrong but did not know what it was. One day, Uncle Ho's secretary, Comrade Vu Ky, came to the place and said: Uncle Ho's health was not stable and the Politburo requested that the Army film crew record his last images.

Upon receiving this information, the film crew could not hide their disappointment. However, hope still grew every day because there was news that Uncle Ho would appear before the entire nation on National Day, September 2.

After living in fear for nearly a week, on August 30, they were ordered to enter the stilt house because "Uncle Ho's health was better". On the first day, both of them worked but were not allowed to get close to Uncle Ho's bed, so they only filmed around the outside.

On September 1st, the mission was still carried out seriously, everyone thought that Uncle Ho would be better. A special chair was also prepared for Uncle Ho on September 2nd.

However, the situation worsened on September 2. "When comrade Vu Ky told us that because the room was small, only two cameramen were allowed in, we were shocked. When we arrived, I saw comrades Pham Van Dong, Tran Quoc Hoan, Vo Nguyen Giap and many other high-ranking leaders already standing by Uncle Ho's coffin.

No one could hold back their tears. My eyes were also streaming, I couldn't see anything through the lens anymore, I could only use a wide-angle lens to film..."

20 years of waiting

Later, in that special situation, cinematographer Nguyen Thanh Xuan also had many doubts about the quality of his footage. However, because the original purpose was to film “documentary”, all the films shot during Uncle Ho’s last days and during the funeral were recorded and hidden. The time when Uncle Ho passed away was a special day, National Day September 2. Therefore, for a long time, information about Uncle Ho’s death date was kept secret for the cause of national liberation.

Major Nguyen Thanh Xuan (holding camera) while working. Photo: document

“Live to keep in mind, die to carry with you”, after 20 years, it was not until 1989 after the film “The Last Moments of Uncle Ho’s Life” directed by Pham Quoc Vinh - Army Film Studio was released that retired cinematographer Nguyen Thanh Xuan was able to see his own footage for the first time. On the day of the premiere, he was invited by the Central Government and the film studio to Hanoi to see the old images again.

Sitting in the auditorium, looking at the familiar images of Uncle Ho, looking back at the old stilt house, looking back at the rubber sandals, the walking stick, looking at his teammates, comrades and looking at the lines of people standing silently along the long road from the Opera House to Trang Tien intersection when Uncle Ho's coffin passed by... he could not hold back his tears.

Daily life of cinematographer Nguyen Thanh Xuan after retirement in his hometown. Photo: SH

Nearly 50 years after Uncle Ho passed away, Major Nguyen Thanh Xuan is now over 85 years old. Throughout his military career, through rains of bombs and bullets, his footprints left their mark on many battlefields from Dien Bien Phu, Quang Tri citadel to the Southern battlefield with many valuable documentary films.

Among them, we must mention many famous documentaries such as “Ham Rong Victory”, “Aim straight at the enemy and shoot”, “Under the flag of victory”, “Da Lat in spring”. Besides, he is also the author of many other valuable films about Uncle Ho which he made during the period from 1965 to 1969.

Talking about the years he spent as a war correspondent, having many opportunities to be with Uncle Ho, he said: "Many international reporters asked me if I was "favored" because I was from the same hometown as Uncle Ho. This is completely untrue. For me, as a fellow countryman of Uncle Ho, and a descendant of Uncle Ho, no matter what task I was assigned, no matter how difficult it was, I had to complete it. Maybe that's why, even though I was an amateur, growing up from "fire and smoke", I was always trusted by my superiors and assigned special tasks."

My Ha