Legendary General Vo Nguyen Giap lives forever in Vietnamese people's heart

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Legendary General Vo Nguyen Giap lives forever in Vietnamese people's heart

By Nguyen Thi Thuy Anh, Zhang Jianhua (Xinhua) 17:48, October 08, 2013

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Tens of thousands of Vietnamese people flocked to the house at 30 Hoang Dieu Street in this capital city on Monday to pay tribute to Vietnamese legendary General Vo Nguyen Giap, who died Friday at the age of 102 after spending four years in a hospital.

Giap was a brilliant commander who led the Vietnamese army to victory, defeating two of the world's mightiest countries, France and the United States. Vietnam was a colony of France for many years.

"I have visited his house for many times. It was all happy times in the past, but today is a sad day," said Tran Quy, 83, a Vietnamese veteran, who was choking with emotion. Quy said he fought in the two wars under the leadership of General Giap.

"I fought in Dien Bien Phu. Now he has gone. I feel so much sorrow. He is a great leader. All the Vietnamese people love him," Quy said when interviewed by Xinhua.

According to Quy, there are so many stories about the life and the career of General Giap. He loves all his soldiers. In fact, the General cried after hearing that over 2,000 Vietnamese soldiers died at the Hill A1 battle in Dien Bien Phu, Quy said.

"He devoted his life to the country, to peace and happiness of the people. I came here very early in the morning. I will wait to mourn him, even till afternoon," said Nguyen Van Nam, a 51-year- old Hanoi resident, who was waiting for his turn to pay his last respects to the general.

Like Nam, Tran Anh Duc, a 18-year-old student, told reporters that he came to the residence of the general on Sunday but was unable to go inside because there were so many people queuing. "I come back today since early morning to queue. I feel so sad. I am so proud that Vietnam has a great hero like General Giap," he said. "My father and grandfather told me about him when I was a child. He devoted his life to the country. He once said that every day of his life was dedicated to our country. I really admire him," Duc said.

The emotion is deeper among those who have worked and met General Giap. Nguyen Tien Chinh, a veteran who met General Giap twice, said, "General Giap passing is a big loss of the Vietnamese army and people We are very sad." "He is a talented general. He led the Vietnamese army to win the two wars against the French and the Americans, bringing freedom to our nation," Chinh, who has many medals on his chest, said.

Le Phuong Dung, at 28 who has not experienced the war, nevertheless learned about the heroism and courage of General Giap from is parents and from history books. "The entire world acknowledges him as a hero, a great general and war tactician. He will never be forgotten," Dung said.

Le Thi Lien, 81, a Hanoi citizen said that she heard the information of Giap's death over the radio and decided to take a taxi by herself to visit his house. "He is a genius in the battle field. He is a hero of Vietnamese people, second only to President Ho Chi Minh," she said.

Thousands of people stayed silently in lines, slowly passing the garden full with flowers where General Giap has spent over half a decade with his family. Many people cried while passing through the garden to pay their last respects.

A state funeral will be held for General Giap from Oct. 11-13 in Hanoi after which he will be buried in his hometown in central Quang Binh province, some 400 km south of Hanoi.

On the second day after General Vo Nguyen Giap passed away, Vietnam central government's online newspaper carried a brief profile of the general. It says in part: "As the first general of the Vietnam People'sArmy, Giap played a key command role in the Indochina War against the French colonialists (1946-1954) and the U.S. imperialists (1960-1975). He took part in various important military campaigns such as the Border Campaign Autumn-Winter (1950) , Dien Bien Phu Campaign (1954), Mau Than Uprising Campaign (1968) and Ho Chi Minh Campaign (1975). He was one of the most effective military commanders assisting President Ho Chi Minh during the wars and led the army to liberate the nation after Uncle Ho died in 1969."