"In my life, the happiest days were the times I met Uncle Ho!"
Le Nguyen Hong Minh is the daughter of two outstanding revolutionary predecessors: Le Hong Phong and Nguyen Thi Minh Khai. Hong Minh lived the most beautiful days in the liberated North, those were the times she met Uncle Ho. During his visits to Uncle Ho, he often called Hong Minh by the affectionate name: little Hong Minh!
That was the time when the Southern cadres gathered (August 20, 1954) to Sam Son - Thanh Hoa, Hong Minh was arranged to stay with Uncle Ton Duc Thang. Uncle Ho told comrade Le Van Luong, Central Organizing Committee to come down to welcome the delegation and find Hong Minh. When comrade Canh, Uncle Ton's secretary, got off the car, there was also journalist Dao Duy Ky.
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Uncle Ho with children - Documentary photo |
Comrade Dao Duy Ky was very happy, pulled Hong Minh into his arms and introduced him to everyone: "This is Hong Minh, the son of Ms. Minh Khai and Mr. Le Hong Phong... When we were in Saigon, when the August Revolution had just succeeded, Mr. Duong Bach Mai often took him to the Dan Chung Newspaper office to play. At that time, we took him to buy a set of clothes and a pair of shoes, both of which he liked the color red.
Hong Minh went with the secretary and Uncle Ton's wife to the Don Thuy hospital area. There, Uncle Ton Duc Thang, Uncle Le Van Luong, Uncle Truong Chinh, Uncle Hoang Quoc Viet and many others were waiting. That evening, comrade Le Van Luong led Uncle Ton's wife and Hong Minh to meet Uncle Ho. Previously, Hong Minh often heard people talk about Uncle Ho: "Uncle is like a fairy", now meeting Uncle Ho, seeing that Uncle's skin was rosy, his hair and beard were white like a fairy...
One day, when he went to see Uncle Ho, Hong Minh thought: Because Uncle Ho was busy, he probably wouldn't remember anymore. Unexpectedly, as soon as he arrived, Uncle Ho asked: "Are you Hong Minh?...".
During a party in Hanoi, Hong Minh was happy to meet Mr. and Mrs. Duong Bach Mai, his adoptive parents. Mr. and Mrs. Bach Mai told Hong Minh: Minh Khai's mother named her daughter: Le Nguyen Hong Minh. From then on, Hong Minh's resume was supplemented with a full name of four words, including both the surname and the combined given name of his father and mother. During his days at Don Thuy hospital, Hong Minh was always taken care of by everyone. One day, Uncle Ton took Hong Minh for a walk. Uncle Ton said: "When your father was still active, Uncle and Uncle Ho were older than your father, so it was correct for you to call him Uncle. As for the other uncles who were younger than your father, you should call them Uncle...".
After asking Hong Minh about his studies, abilities and aspirations, Uncle Truong Chinh assigned his secretary to do the paperwork and send Hong Minh to study at Duc Tai School, Guilin, China. There, Hong Minh met his uncle, comrade Le Thiet Hung, and Dung, his mother's younger brother. After studying in China, Hong Minh continued to be sent by Uncle Ho, the Party and the State to the Soviet Union to study in Leningrad City...
While telling the story, suddenly comrade Hong Minh lowered his voice and said emotionally: "During the days living in the North, I was always taken care of by uncles, Truong Chinh, Vo Nguyen Giap, Pham Van Dong, Le Duan..., especially Uncle Ho. Many times Uncle Ho let me eat with him and every time he reminded me: "You have to finish eating, if you can't finish eating, just leave the rice behind". Whenever he met Uncle Ho, he called me "baby". In 1964, I was studying at Hanoi University of Science and Technology, before being evacuated, a security guard came and whispered to me: "Someone will pick you up at the red gate".
I knew that "coming to the red gate" meant arriving at the gate to Uncle Ho's house. I went there immediately, met Uncle Ho and had dinner with him: After dinner, Uncle Ho said: "Life will be more difficult after evacuation, you have to try to study well...". When I said goodbye to Uncle Ho and asked for permission to leave, Uncle Ho continued: "You try hard!". Before leaving the gate, Mr. Vu Ky called me back, put a package in my hand and said: "Uncle gives Hong Minh 200 dong to have breakfast at the evacuation site". At that time, the amount of money was huge for me. Holding the package of money, I was moved to tears. In my life, the happiest days were the times I met Uncle Ho!".
Truong Que Phuong
