ANAPI President Gen. Philippe de Maleissye (Photo: VNA) Paris (VNA) – President of the National Association of Former Prisoners of Indochina (ANAPI) Gen. Philippe de Maleissye has shown the clumps of soil and rocks he had brought back from his recent trip toVietnam, which were taken from Hill A1, the site of some of the fiercest fightsin the Dien Bien Phu campaign, while talking with Vietnam News Agency correspondents in Paris.
For him, these seemingly insignificant clumps of brown soilhold immense significance, containing the love and painful memories of theFrench soldiers who fought in Vietnam, especially those who survived andreturned from the battlefield of Dien Bien Phu. Almost 70 years after thecampaign that shook the world, their deep and painful memories have beenreplaced by a special love for this land. To the extent that before lying down,the French soldiers only wished to be buried with a clump of soil brought backfrom the battlefield of Dien Bien Phu. That is why each time he visits DienBien Phu, Gen. Maleissye takes a small amount of soil from this place to giveto his comrades who fought in Indochina, fulfilling their final wishes.
As a former foreign legion officer and the Commander-in-Chiefof the French Armed Forces, Gen. Maleissye is also an expert on Dien Bien Phu.In 2013, he published a "living novel" mixing facts and fiction,titled "La Vallée perdue" (The Lost Valley). The story is based onthe account of Pierre Holinger, a veteran who arrived in Indochina in 1954 andjoined the Vietnamese Parachute Battalion to jump into the Dien Bien Phucauldron to provide medical assistance to the besieged troops during the final daysof the 57-day campaign.
Arriving in Vietnam for the first time in 2013, Maleissyequickly understood the love that French veterans hold for the country and itspeople, saying that Vietnam is truly a lovely country, with friendly, hospitable,cheerful, and hardworking people.
PhilippeDelarbre, French Director of the "Dien Bien Phu 1954 - Le Sacrifice"(Dien Bien Phu 1954 – Sacrifice) documentary, called for building friendshipbetween French and Vietnamese soldiers.
“Ihope for this, especially in the current uncertain times we are living in, wecan completely build a new foundation based on brotherhood between Vietnam andFrance, transcending political and military issues, becoming a bridge betweenAsia and the West. That is very important.", he said.
As ANAPI Secretary General, Eric Fornal also hoped tocontinue the work of his predecessors, preserving memories of the formersoldiers and prisoners of war in Indochina, especially in Dien Bien Phu. He expectsto convey a message of peace to the younger generations, while helping themunderstand the brutality of war, what the French soldiers went through, andtheir love for Vietnam. This is also the reason why ANAPI gathers not onlyformer soldiers and prisoners of war in Indochina, but also their families anddescendants, as well as all those who love Vietnam./.
