Although he, an 83-year-old farmer in Dai Yen commune, Chuong My district, Hanoi, has to work hard to earn his living every day, Tran Van Cao, with his special affection for Uncle Ho, has spent painstaking time developing a memorial house for Uncle Ho in his property.
Mr. Cao introduces each picture of Uncle Ho to visitors. (Photo: baovanhoa.vn)
The room on the 3rd floor is dedicated by Mr. Cao to display more than 300 photos of Uncle Ho’s revolutionary life and career. The idea for the memorial took only a year, but it took the old farmers 10 years to gather such giant collection. Talking about that great love for Uncle Ho, Mr. Tran Van Cao said that when he was small, he had opportunities to see Uncle Ho’s pictures hung formally in the house by his father. These images were imprinted on his mind. When he grew up, meeting many documents and witnessing the great merits of President Ho Chi Minh for the nation, his affection for Uncle Ho becomes greater and greater.
According to Mr. Cao, daily hard work does not prevent him from thinking about Uncle Ho. He has spent all of his spare time developing the memorial house. All of the 300 photos have been framed and preserved carefully. He always asks for new documents and photos about Uncle Ho wherever he goes and whatever he does. Despite his old age, he has learned to use the Internet to search for more information about Uncle Ho.
The photos are arranged in time and milestones from the day Uncle Ho left the fatherland to find the way to save the country until the last moments of his life. In particular, there are photos of Uncle Ho that have been kept for nearly 70 years in his family. His memorial room has become popular for senior people to come and review fierce war memories; remind each other to study and follow President Ho Chi Minh’s ideology, morality and style; and encourage each other on how to live to deserve Uncle Ho’s example. Many students and pupils also come to his house to learn about national history. “For each picture, I study thoroughly about the content, time, activities of Uncle Ho to introduce to visitors,” said Mr. Cao. “Students and pupils are eager to listen to stories about Uncle Ho."
Nguyen Duc Anh, a pupil from the Dai Yen Secondary School, could not hide his emotion when he came to the memorial house. “Seeing images of Uncle Ho and listening to Mr. Cao's detailed explanation, I understand more thoroughly about President Ho Chi Minh’s devotion to the nation,” he said, adding that Mr Cao’s house contributes to fostering everyone’s, especially the young generation’s, love of the nation; encouraging them to follow Uncle Ho’s example.
Not only collecting photos, Mr. Cao is also the author of the 1,456 poem sentences about President Ho Chi Minh’s life and career. Although he has composed the poem for more than 10 years, he still remembers each stanza and words./.
Compiled by P.H