Exhibition “Bare feet, steely will” is being held at Hoa Lo Prison Museum, Hanoi (Photo: VNA) Hanoi (VNA) - A special exhibitionon mementoes featuring Vietnam’s resistance wars opened to the public on April18 in Hoa Lo prison, Hanoi, providing a chance for not only Vietnamese peoplebut also foreigners to get an insight into the Vietnamese victory to gainindependence and freedom.
“Bare feet, steely will” is the theme of theexhibition, telling the story of the will and the courage of elite people whohad entered in the war with their “bare feet” and fight against the enemy bytheir “steely will”.
Mementoes are displayed at the exhibition (Photo: VNA) That people had extraordinary strength to overcome difficulties and challenges,bearing the iron will to win and the faith in their country without any selfinterest, following their chosen path of revolution wholeheartedly.
“The exhibition is a meaningful activityand its theme is absolutely right for our time,” Major General Huynh Dac Huong,who has presented more than 20 mementoes to Hoa Lo Prison Museum, told VietnamNews Agency.
Major General Huynh Duc Huong (right) tells about one of his war mementoes presented for displaying at Hoa Lo Prison Museum (Photo: VNA) “How much pain and sorrow, but it can’tshake the will and determination of Vietnamese people who always thirst forpeace,” Huong, who fought in the two resistance wars against the Frenchcolonialists and the US imperialists.
Over 250 war mementoes being displayed including photos, documents and itemsalong with stories about the wars, were presented by Vietnamese war veteranswho fought in the resistance wars.
The exhibits manifest the Vietnamese soldiers’ courage which contributed toglorious victories from the Battle of Dien Bien Phu in 1954, to the victory inthe cause of liberation of the South and the reunification of the country in1975.
“I presented these war mementoes because Iknow the prison is a good place for preserving precious historical documents,showing Vietnamese soldiers’ steely will which greatly contributed to thevictory of the revolution,” Huong said.
“This exhibition attributes characteristicsof the Vietnamese people that foreigners gradually learn to respect and that’snot only the soldiers but the people really have the steel will,” said ChuckSearcy, President of the Veteran for Peace’s Hoa Binh Chapter 160 in Hanoi, avisitor to the event.
“They (soldiers) are committed to thecountry’s independence, freedom, and any foreign armies and invaders occupyingnations should think twice before trying to take over Vietnam. So it’s veryuseful exhibition which shows the strength of a lot of people who were heroesof the country”.
“We never supported the Vietnamese War,”said Kevin Zehner, another visitor from New Mexico City, the US. “I was 17-18when the war was being fought. Many American didn’t believe in the war. Unfortunately,all that happened.”
Exhibition attracts much interest of foreign visitors (Photo: VNA) The exhibition contributed to proving the fierceness of the resistance wars,the courage and wisdom of Vietnamese soldiers and people, thus nurturing thenational pride among younger generations.
Hoa Lo prison was built by theFrench in 1896 to jail Vietnamese patriots. It was also used to hold US pilotsgrounded by the Vietnamese armed forces during the American air war againstNorth Vietnam in the 1960's and early 1970's. The prison was dubbed by Americaninmates as "Hanoi Hilton".
Today, the site mostlymemorializes the suffering of Vietnamese revolutionary martyrs before 1954, andglosses over the other periods.-VNA
