Please tell us how you first met Uncle Ho. What your feelings were. And how did it come about that you became Uncle Ho's personal secretary?

Thank you very much for asking me these questions. At that time I was just like any other cadre. Uncle Ho needed a person to help him in his work. So a number of comrades in the Central Committee who knew me recommended me. In fact, they had decided on me beforehand and brought me to Uncle Ho. My first feeling was one of worry. I was wondering whether I would be up to the task. But as a cadre who had been operating clandestinely, for me to go public now after the country had regained independence to become a personal secretary of Uncle Ho was indeed an honor. I think every cadre who had operated clandestinely would have felt the same.

Could you give us the details of Uncle Ho's daily schedule? What he did when he woke up in the morning, how he went to work, what he ate at lunch, how he continued to work in the afternoon, and so on?

It is really difficult to describe Uncle Ho’s day in a few minutes. Early in the morning, before the sun rose and the birds sang, Uncle Ho was already up. He was indeed a peasant. Also he had been a person who engaged in clandestine activities in the base area, so he was used to waking up early. He got up around 5:30, did some calisthenics for about 10 minutes and then took a walk before coming back for breakfast. At around 6:30, after having his breakfast, Comrade Ho would sit down and work The first thing he did was to read Nhan Dan, the Party's newspaper, and other Hanoi newspapers.

After reading the newspapers, he would listen to our briefings about what was going to happen during the day and he would instruct us about what was to be done, then he would sit alone by himself reading documents and reports. This was in case he did not have to go to meetings or visit places. In the afternoon, after lunch, Uncle Ho usually rested in the downstairs lounge of his bungalow for about half an hour, when he would resume work again. Comrade Ho Chi Minh usually reserved the afternoons for meeting with cadres from the various departments, the various central governmental offices, the National Assembly and the various localities.

In the evening, after dinner and around 6:30, Comrade Ho Chi Minh went back to work again. During this period I would read the newspapers out loud for him. By around 9:00 p.m. I asked permission to go home. But he continued to read books until about 11 p.m. or so, or until the Vietnam Radio broadcasts had stopped, before he would turn off the light and go to sleep.

So this was his day. And since I was with Uncle Ho for a long time, I must say that this was his schedule when he was in the military base (during the early 40s), after he evacuated from Hanoi during the Resistance period, and later on in Hanoi itself. I would say that this was also his schedule whenever he was traveling abroad. He was always on schedule, and this really provided us cadres a good example.

What did Ho Chi Minh do to entertain himself? Did he play balls or something like that?

On one occasion I asked Uncle Ho why did he not do something to entertain himself. And his answer was that reading newspapers was a form of entertainment for him. And on Sundays he usually read a lot of picture magazines which had been sent to him during the week but which he did not have time to read. But the most entertaining thing for him to do was to go pay visits to people, the various localities, the schools, the young children, hospitals, and so on. This was for him a special form of entertainment, mixing official business with the pleasure of getting to see the people.

In Hanoi, sometimes he would do some gardening and planting of vegetables. And at his bungalow, his daily form of entertainment was to feed the fish every afternoon. And the fact that the fish come so on time for food was because of Ho Chi Minh's punctuality in feeding them. While still in the revolutionary base during the Resistance period, I recall that he sometimes played volleyball with the cadres. But his main form of entertainment was reading newspapers and books and playing with children.

In 1945 when the Americans were here, when Mr. Patti was here, did Uncle Ho ever tell you of his impressions of them or of Mr. Patti?

At that time the meetings between Uncle Ho and the Americans usually took place at the Bac bo phu (former office of the French Resident Superior) on 12 Ngo Quyen Street. I was present at every meeting. But it is really regrettable that I did not know any English at that time and therefore did not know what they were talking about. I must point out that the meetings were not with Patti alone. There were many other Americans.

I still remember the Americans who parachuted down to Tan trao and who came to visit us in Hanoi later on. Later on, I recall that these people still sent New Year greetings to Uncle Ho. But the really interesting thing was that after the meetings and the conversations with these Americans Comrade Ho Chi Minh appeared to be in very good mood.

It was not appropriate for me to ask him what his impressions were, but I could see that he was in very good mood. And the really special thing about it all was that he was very friendly toward them and very casual, so casual that he treated them like members of his family and entertained them in his shorts. He was wearing shorts and short sleeved shirt. He was extremely thin then. After the conversations, the Americans were also very happy.

Uncle Ho went to China and the Soviet Union many times. Did he ever tell you of his impressions of Chairman Mao and other Chinese leaders and, likewise, his impressions of Soviet leaders?

It is a very complicated thing for me to go into political questions here. But let me tell you a few anecdotes. I had the honor to be recommended by the Central Committee to come here to serve Uncle Ho, and so I had opportunities to accompany him not just to the Soviet Union and to China alone. In 1957 I went to all the socialist countries with him, including Yugoslavia and Albania.

In 1958 we went to Burma, India and Indonesia. Accompanying Uncle Ho during his trips abroad was such an interesting thing to do because he usually developed very quick rapport and attachment with the peoples in those countries. Uncle Ho usually told me that as a revolutionary, he had learned a lot from France, from the Soviet Union and from China.

These were the three countries where he stayed longest. But during his period of clandestine activities, he had been in Germany, Italy, and Thailand, to name a few places, and he found out that these places provided extremely valuable lessons on clandestine revolutionary activities. Uncle Ho said that in France he learned how to oppose capitalism, in the Soviet Union he learned how to organize political parties and in China he learned how a semi feudal semi colonial country should oppose the ruling class. So therefore, when he visited these places he spent time visiting with their leaders. But during these meetings I was seldom present.

In general, however, Uncle Ho spent the great bulk of his time visiting with popular organizations, youth groups, and even individual homes of local inhabitants. During these visits Uncle usually remarked that the Soviet Union provided a good example for Vietnam in the future. The Soviet Union took good care of children, and so in the future Vietnam should try to be as good as the Soviet Union on this matter. As far as China was concerned, I was not present at the many meetings with the Chinese leadership.

But during these trips Uncle Ho usually told me that the most important thing was to maintain international solidarity, no matter how good or how bad the other party was, in order to get the necessary strength to fight the common enemy. This was the ultimate goal. Domestically, Uncle Ho stressed that great unity brought about great successes. The same thing is applicable on the international scene. Therefore, at the present time our cadres and our Party only have the greatest respect for the peoples of other countries, especially the peoples of socialist countries.

With regard to the peoples of the United States, France, England, and the various colonial countries, President Ho Chi Minh told our cadres and our Party to promote unity. Therefore, even though the present leadership in China has committed serious mistakes we still have good feelings towards the Chinese people and are still grateful to them.

And although we are resolute in opposing the policies of the Chinese ruling circle, we still feel very close to China and therefore we will certainly advance toward unity with the Chinese people. And Comrade Ho Chi Minh’s hope was that there would be international solidarity and unity so that Vietnam could become a totally independent country not only in the socialist community but also in the world community.

When Uncle Ho came back from the Fontainebleau conference, did he tell you of his impressions about it? Whether it would bring peace to Vietnam, for example?

This issue has been clearly expressed in the newspapers and the many declarations by Ho Chi Minh and the Government of Vietnam. But let me suggest a main point: The Vietnamese people had been under colonial domination for 80 years and several thousand years of Chinese domination. Therefore, the Vietnamese people and the Party sincerely wanted to have independence. And in order to have independence, you must have peace. Peace is an extremely good condition for independence and freedom.

Therefore, at that time we did everything possible in order not to have a war. The Vietnamese population was extremely patient and tried their best to follow the orders of their government. And the government was extremely accommodating to the French, willing to disregard the 80 years of French colonization and wanting only to live in peace. But the French used every possible device to try to re-conquer Vietnam. And the Fontainebleau conference was but a device for that purpose. The French did not want to let go of what we Vietnamese call "a good dish," which meant the colony, and attempted to return.

Therefore, Ho Chi Minh had to go through all the troubles to go to France to tell the French the positions of the Vietnamese people. And, on his return, he called on the Vietnamese people to strongly maintain their resolve for peace.

But in the end the French rode the coat tails of the British troops and re-conquered the southern part of Vietnam, paving the way for the re-conquest of the whole country. But things were quite different now. In the old days, there had not been a Communist Party. But under the leadership of the Party, the Resistance lasted for only nine years before we regained our independence although Uncle Ho had called upon the people to prepare for a long but victorious war.

He was really quite sick by the end of 1968. It was very difficult for him to move about. And yet Comrade Ho Chi Minh patiently continued his exercise and his walks. By the beginning of 1969 he was still visiting the villages and planting trees. But his health deteriorated after that, although he still continued to work. It was not until August 17, 1969 that he stopped working in his own bungalow because doctors had detected that he had a heart problem.

He had to be kept in a room on the ground level. And by the 24th of August Comrade Ho Chi Minh could not continue with his work anymore. But the really interesting thing about it all is that whenever a member of the Politburo came in to see him, he would say: "I am really much better today. How are things? What victories do we have in the South? You guys should take care of the flood problem and should not allow the dikes to be breached." We had a very high water level at that time in the North.

When Pham Van Dong came to see him, which was around the time of the anniversary of Independence Day, he said that preparations should be made so that he could make a public appearance for 10 minutes or so to greet the people. But the prognosis of the doctors was that his illness would become more critical every day. So Uncle Ho told me to tell the members of the Politburo not to worry about him anymore and not to bother to come to see so often.

He said that if there were something important, I could relay the message to him. But the members of the Politburo kept on coming to see him. And every time they saw him, they had to talk with him. This caused them to worry more and caused Ho Chi Minh to tire out more. So finally I had to step in and told the members of the Politburo that whenever they came to see him, they should make a detour to the back of the house and took a good look at him from a distance before leaving. This went on until the beginning of September.

It was here during the first days of September that Comrade Ho Chi Minh read the Declaration of Independence. And it was again here during the first days of September that Comrade Ho Chi Minh departed his world. But I must point out the fact that Comrade Ho prepared his testament as early as May 10, and the content of the testament, as you already know, is really very good.

How come Comrade Ho Chi Minh remained so calm when he was so sick, when he realized that he was soon going to leave this world? This was because a long time before his death our Comrade Ho Chi Minh had written his testament. And I'm sure you have read it. He said that it was a natural thing for him to write a testament at that time because at his age it was only natural that he would soon die.

But he said that it was not really true that he was going to die but that he was only going to visit Lenin and his other predecessors. And by the word "predecessors" which he did not spell out, it could mean that he was going to visit Tran Hung Dao, Le Loi, Nguyen Hue, and other past Vietnamese leaders. And he said that he wrote his testimony that early so that the Vietnamese people as well as people elsewhere in the world would know about it and would not feel surprised when his death came about.

He said that if he still lived on the day when peace finally came about, he would then travel around the country and the world to thank everybody for his or her contribution. But having made this preparation, our Uncle Ho had to depart, not able to withstand his illness. You must realize that he had had to go through many years of hardship and struggles. You must see the picture of him when he arrived in Hanoi after the Resistance period.

He was extremely thin. In fact, from the revolutionary base here we had to carry him in a stretcher. He could not walk by himself at that time. That was how weak he was. But because of his resilient spirit, he worked until his last days. And before he died, he made his final wish: "When I die, do not organize a big funeral. This is a waste of resources. Let me lie in the hearts of the people, the hearts of the young people and the children, Vietnamese young people and children and young people and children elsewhere in the world." He ended this request by hugging everyone around, especially the children. Therefore, that was a very special moment.

What his very last words?

The comrades in the Politburo told me to watch out for any last advice that Uncle Ho might have. But Uncle Ho had written down all the really important things that he had wanted to say, so there was no need for him to say anything else at all. I remember that during his last days, when the members of the Politburo came in to see him, Uncle Ho usually asked this question: "What victories do we have in the South today?"

The fish are afraid of the camera so they dare not come in.