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| General
Giap (in army uniform) greets people at the Dien Bien Phu
Victory Monument. — VNA/VNS Photo Thanh Ha |
Gen
Giap visits Dien Bien
HA NOI —
General Vo Nguyen Giap, the commander of the Dien Bien military
campaign, received a warm welcome on his visit to the battlefield
last Saturday.
The visit,
which came a decade after Giap’s last trip to the city, was part
of a day of activities in honour of the 50th anniversary of the
Dien Bien Phu victory.
Several
hundred local people converged on Dien Bien airport and the two
sides of Dien Bien Phu City’s roads to welcome Giap’s
delegation.
Hoang Van
Tra, 85, a veteran of the Dien Bien Phu campaign said this was the
first time he met General Giap.
"We
hope General Giap will be able to maintain good health and come
back to Dien Bien several more times," he said through tears.
"I want
to see General Giap very much," Fourth grade student Hoang
Thi Lan said. "Everyone in my family respects him."
Secretary of
the provincial Party Committee, Trinh Long Bien, Chairman of the
provincial People’s Council, Vu A Phia, Chairman of the
provincial People’s Committee, Quang Van Binh, Minister of
Culture and Information Pham Quang Nghi, as well as veterans and
representatives from the armed forces met to receive General Giap.
During his
stay in Dien Bien, General Giap will hold talks with provincial
officials, military soldiers, war veterans and ethnic groups in
the province.
He paid
tribute to war martyrs at A1 cemetery and visited the command post
of the Dien Bien Phu military campaign.
He also
toured other historic sites such as the Dien Bien Phu Victory
Museum and A1 Hill.
A1 Hill was
the most important stronghold in the eastern defence line of the
Muong Thanh headquarters, where fierce fighting lasted 39 days
until it was taken over by the Vietnamese army on May 7, 1954.
Giap also
visited Noong Nhai Village in Dien Bien Phu District where French
bombers killed 444 civilians, most of them women and children.
Giap gave
gifts to ethnic people and asked about their health. He also
visited the Dien Bien Phu Victory Monument.
"I am
delighted by (Dien Bien’s) renovation," Giap said.
"But I grieve for the deaths of fallen comrades."
Giap’s
visit to Dien Bien will last for four days. — VNS
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