Exhibition to pay tribute to General Vo Nguyen Giap
NDO – An online exhibition entitled ‘General Vo Nguyen Giap – The legendary general’ will be held on August
General Võ Nguyen Giap (second from right) and other members of the Viet Nam Central Military Commission. — VNA/VNS File Photo
HÀ NỘI — An online exhibition featuring the life and works of late General Võ Nguyen Giap will open this weekend in Ha Noi to mark his 110th birthday (August 25).
The virtual event is held by the Thăng Long-Ha Noi Heritage Conservation Centre to honour the legendary general’s great contributions to the national liberation cause.
Some 200 documents and photos about the General's life and service in Viet Nam People's Army will be displayed at the exhibition in three major themes of Từ Nhan Dan Ma Ra (Originated from People), Người Anh Cả của Quan Đoi Nhan Dan Viet Nam (The Eldest Brother of the Viet Nam People's Army) and Di Sản Của Đại tưong Võ Nguyen Giap (The Legacy of General Võ Nguyen Giap).
In particular, a secret dispatch handwritten by General Giap on April 7, 1975, urging military units to exert every effort to liberate the south of Viet Nam will be showcased at the exhibition.
Visitors will also have a chance to look back at the heroic revolutionary traditions of the Viet Nam People's Army associated with General Giap, a loyal revolutionary soldier, an excellent and close disciple of President Hồ Chí Minh and the “eldest brother” of the Viet Nam People’s Army.
General Giap, whose real name is Võ Giap (alias Văn), was born in Loc Thủy Commune, Le Thủy District, the central province of Quảng Bình on August 25, 1911. He passed away in Ha Noi on October 4, 2013, at the age of 103.
The General's military career started with his appointment to lead the first Vietnamese revolutionary army unit with only 34 soldiers in 1944. He then became the commander-in-chief of the Viet Nam People’s Army and led the Vietnamese people's army from victory to victory during the resistance war against French colonialists and then American imperialists.
General Võ Nguyen Giap (right) and President Hồ Chí Minh (left). — VNA/VNS File PhotoThe general was famous for leading the victorious Đien Bien Phủ campaign in 1954, which contributed to the country’s liberation from French colonialism.
To the Vietnamese people, he was not only a wartime hero but also an icon who dedicated his life to the development of the country. Millions of people lined up streets across the country in mourning after his death in 2013 and millions more have visited his final resting place in Quảng Bình.
He once served as a Politburo member, Secretary of the Central Military Commission, Standing Deputy Prime Minister, Minister of National Defence, Commander-in-Chief of the Vietnamese People’s Army and a National Assembly deputy from the first to seventh tenures. — VNS