The homeland bows to bid farewell to Him...

(Baonghean) - Dong Hoi City (Quang Binh) these days is sad and gloomy in the white rain. Temporarily putting aside the hustle and bustle of daily work, the people of Dong Hoi City in particular and the people of Quang Binh in general quietly set aside a deep corner to commemorate the beloved General of their homeland and country. The "command" of the heart urges thousands of people to look in the same direction...

On the morning of October 12, together with Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City, the memorial service for General Vo Nguyen Giap was solemnly held at the Great Hall of the Quang Binh Provincial People's Committee building. According to the official announcement broadcast on the mass media, the memorial service will begin at exactly 7:30 a.m. However, from early morning, despite the heavy rain, streams of people quietly made their way to Hung Vuong Street - the location where the main activities of the memorial service will take place.

In the endless stream of people, there was the green color of youth volunteers, the solemn uniforms of veterans, mixed with the dark, sad color of the elderly. There were easily thousands of people in that seemingly endless stream, but in contrast to the noisy atmosphere often seen in crowds, this morning, a quiet atmosphere covered the space. Solemnly and respectfully, hundreds of students from high schools, colleges and universities in the city lined up in two long rows along the main streets, holding in their hands a picture of General Vo Nguyen Giap with a gentle smile. This was one of the activities launched by the Quang Binh Provincial Youth Union on the occasion of the Gratitude Week. The number of registered youth volunteers exceeded the organizers' expectations.

Many people braved the rain carrying portraits waiting for their turn to pay their respects to the General in Quang Binh. Photo: Tran Duy Ngoan.

Mr. Nguyen Phuong Van - Deputy Secretary of the Youth Union of Quang Binh University said: "Initially, according to the plan of the Provincial Youth Union, the school's Youth Union only selected 100 excellent students to participate in this activity. However, the students themselves proactively requested the school's Youth Union to organize volunteer registration, so that everyone has the opportunity to express their gratitude to the beloved General. Preliminary statistics show that on the morning of October 12, Quang Binh University alone had more than 350 students participating, while the total number of all schools must be more than 1,000".

Under the heavy rain, stories, photos, memories and recollections of the outstanding General were told in sobs. Each story was a small piece, blending into a sacred flow of emotions about the General - a great yet simple son of Quang Nam. The line of people lined up in front of the Provincial People's Committee yard, seemingly endless, patiently waiting for the moment to pay their respects to the General, place a yellow chrysanthemum, a white rose, and pay their respects to his spirit. At exactly 7:30 a.m., the ceremonial music sounded, Secretary of the Quang Binh Provincial Party Committee Luong Ngoc Binh read the eulogy, recalling the biography and important milestones in the life of General Vo Nguyen Giap, emphasizing his feelings for his homeland "deep affection", for his compatriots and soldiers across the country. At the end of the eulogy, the delegation of Quang Binh province's leaders and 10 relatives representing the General's family offered incense on the altar, opening the way for visiting delegations from all over the country.

In the sacred music, the sobs, though suppressed, still burst out, sobbing and choking. The most emotional were the groups of veterans, youth volunteers, and frontline militiamen - people who had experienced countless battles, always proud to be "Uncle Ho's soldiers, Mr. Giap's soldiers". The young men and women who had never regretted their youth, who had experienced the hardships of bullets and bombs, now bowed down in endless pain. They choked up and called softly: "Big Brother! Big Brother!", looking at the hands that had been used to detect and block bullets, now dotted with freckles, tearfully placing a white wreath on the General's altar, no one could hide their tears.

Mr. A Lang Ghinh - the delegation of the Truong Son Road Tradition Association from Nam Giang (Quang Nam) arrived in Dong Hoi on the evening of October 11, his left chest shining with medals of military exploits in the two resistance wars against France and the US, still not over his emotions: “I am a son of the Co Tu ethnic group, fortunate and honored to have met the General many times. I deeply feel his affection and care for the people of all ethnic groups, I always try to live and fight, work and study according to his instructions. Upon receiving the news of the General's passing, everyone in my village was sad. I represent the village to come here to pay my respects to the General!”

Mr. Doan Van Thong, a veteran of the Three-Tradition History Group, along with 30 of his comrades, waited in the rain for their turn to pay their respects to the General since 6am. In their story, the memories of a heroic time of war associated with the military strategy of Mr. Van - General Vo Nguyen Giap attracted the attention of many young people standing nearby. In everyone's hands was a picture of General Vo Nguyen Giap - his eyes were bright and his smile was kind, as if his figure was still here, standing among the army, heartily announcing the victory. Mr. Thong - the brave soldier of the famous Dien Bien Phu battle in the past, emotionally shared: "In my life, I fought in many battles, there were times when I thought I would collapse, but thanks to the small picture of Uncle Ho and General Vo Nguyen Giap hidden at the bottom of my backpack as spiritual strength, I and my generation stood up, fought and won. In my heart, the General is always immortal!"

It was past noon, the registration book of people coming to pay their respects to General Vo Nguyen Giap continued to grow. Many groups had arranged their schedules to return to their roots, after offering incense at the Provincial People's Committee Hall, they would continue to move to An Xa village, Loc Thuy commune, Le Thuy district - where the General's childhood home is located, now the General Vo Nguyen Giap Memorial House. From 5am, the funeral ceremony according to local rituals was organized by relatives, neighbors and friends in a choked with grief. A simple offering tray with traditional dishes of the local people was offered to the altar. Although the General had been away from home since his childhood, at this moment, he still returned to the warmth and affection of the An Xa people. The pain and sorrow filled the small house.

Holding the General's picture tightly in his arms, Mr. Ho Van Nui (Vinh O, Vinh Linh, Quang Tri), representing the Van Kieu ethnic group, wiped away his tears and shared: "No words can express the feelings of the Van Kieu people for the General. The gratitude to Uncle Ho and the General is immense. We will never forget!" Having said that, he quickly said goodbye to catch the last bus of the day back to Quang Tri, to ensure the schedule for 3am tomorrow morning, leading the Van Kieu group to Quang Trach (Quang Binh) to attend the General's funeral.

Regardless of the long distance, from all over the homeland, people came to the small house by the gentle Kien Giang River to offer incense to pay their respects to his soul. Standing out in the crowded crowd was the pilgrimage group of the Association of War Veterans of the Military Industry of Nghe An province. With deep respect, the children of Uncle Ho's homeland traveled more than 200km in the pouring rain to Le Thuy, hoping to express their gratitude to a great personality of the nation, and at the same time, fulfill their wish to visit the birthplace of the legendary General.

Representing the delegation, Mr. Phung Khac Hieu - former Director of the Technical Department of Military Region 4 confided: “General Vo Nguyen Giap was a general of the people, a general who treated his soldiers like his children. Coming to this simple house, we respect even more this great man with a refined and rustic character. We, the soldiers of the heroic Vietnam Army, will always remember his affection and contributions.”

According to incomplete statistics from the Funeral Committee at the Memorial House of General Vo Nguyen Giap, up to now, there have been more than 1,560 delegations of guests, with more than 10,000 people from all over the country and abroad coming to see off and pay their respects to the spirit of General Vo Nguyen Giap. 10,000 people and certainly more, bring us faith in the humanity of life: when touching each person's heart, the strings of harmony will vibrate. Death is not necessarily the end of everything. Joining the crowd to pay their respects to the General, I suddenly remembered To Huu's poem: "There are deaths that become immortal/ There are words that are better than any song/ There are people who are born as truths...". Oh General, my homeland bows to bid you farewell.

Thanh Duy - Phuong Chi