Can you tell us why you joined the Viet Minh?

I joined the Viet Minh because I saw that the people were being exploited and oppressed. The people suffered a lot. I myself also had to put up with a lot of hardship. So when I saw that the Viet Minh had an armed force with which we could liberate our people, I joined them.

Could you be more concrete? Could you tell us how the landlords treated the poor peasants, for example?

I myself saw that the people worked very hard, under the pouring rain and the burning sun, and yet they could not get enough to eat. Then the peasants had to pay heavy taxes. By the time a boy became 18 years of age, for example, he had to pay a head tax of 2.5 piasters.

While the village inhabitants were already that exploited, all the organizations, the local despots and the village officials ganged up to repress us. Above these people, we also had the repressive machineries of the district and the prefecture.

I myself had to hire out my labor in order to survive. Therefore, I knew that I was being exploited and oppressed. So when the nation and Ho Chi Minh called on me, I joined the Viet Minh in order to help liberate our country and to deliver our people – among them myself and my family – from all the suffering and hardship.

Can you tell us of the battle of Hanoi in 1946?

I came down to Hanoi from Son-tay and fought in the neighborhood of Ngoc-ha Street. The French lobbed 60mm and 81mm mortar rounds at us. We had to fight from house to house. I was an anti-tank gunner. We fought against the French with muskets too, from house to house. This was in Hanoi.

What was your feeling about the enemy?

The French concentrated their 60mm and 81mm mortar rounds on us. They also used machine guns. We, however, fought against them with muskets and hand grenades.

Sometimes we climbed up the tall buildings and shot down at the French as they moved around in the streets, killing many of them. We moved our positions all the time and were always on the attack.

What did you think of the French both as human beings and as enemies?

The French were physically large, and their weapons were many. But we had something which we could use as a weapon against them. And that was our morale, our courage. We were determined to fight the French until the end because the French came here to steal our land and oppress us. That was how I felt.

Can you describe to us the battle of Dien Bien Phu? What happened to you? What the weather was like, and so on?

It was very cold and rainy when I went to the battle of Dien Bien Phu. As we marched to Dien Bien Phu, we had rice balls with some salted sesame. To supplement our meals we picked up greens along the road. It took us about a month to get to Dien Bien Phu.

When you got to Dien Bien Phu, you had to prepare for battle. Can you describe to us what the conditions were like, preparing for the battle?

First of all, we had to check our weapons and cook our meals when we got to Dien Bien Phu. Then we dug the trenches. After that, we were briefed on the battle plan, what our particular job was, and which part of Dien Bien Phu we had to attack.

When we arrived, the French airplanes dropped flares and bombed on us. At the same time, they pounded our positions with artillery. But we dug our trenches and attacked them.

Can you tell me of your hand to hand battles with the French at Dien Bien Phu?

My first hand to hand battle when I arrived in Dien Bien Phu was at the Muong Thanh airstrip. The enemy tried their best to stop our attack by using their tank units and their infantry. But we were determined to charge them.

We practically had to fight them for every inch of land. At first we chased them in the trenches, throwing grenades at them. We also used sub-machine guns. But many times we had to use our bayonets to fight with them.

This was a really fierce battle because the Muong Thanh airstrip was used by the French to carry supplies and their wounded.

Could you describe your trip down the Ho Chi Minh trail?

When I was told that I was going to go South to participate in the Ho Chi Minh Campaign, I made all the necessary preparations in term of supplies. The route south was really arduous: it rained heavily, the road was slippery, the mountains high, the ravines deep.

I left the North in February 1968 and did not reach the South until three months later. Along the way we were confronted by flares, bombs of all kinds and rockets continually.

Along the route, we could not camp down until we had reached our destinations. When we reached our destinations we would then sleep in hammocks and then would start walking again by 4:00 a.m. the next morning.

Three months later, we approached our battlefront. And the closer we got to our battlefront, the more bombs and artillery shells were dropped on us.

Could you tell us how you felt going to the South? Did you feel it was a different country? And how did the people act to you when you were down there?

I always believed that North and South was one country, and that it was my responsibility to help liberate the South. When I arrived in the South the people there really treated me very well. They fed us, gave us things to drink and even paid attention to the most minute details of our lives.

They treated us very warmly; they loved us. I was very moved and I was resolved to fight to liberate the country in spite of all hardship.

Could you tell us about fighting with the Americans? What the American fighters were like? And whether you had any hand to hand combat with them?

When I fought with the Americans I realized that they were really huge physically, but slow. Morale wise, they were weak.

I had hand to hand combat with the Americans in Dien Hong. We charged them, and they ran away. When I fought in Dien Hong, the battle lasted from 8:00 a.m. til 5:00 p.m. Personally, I charged their positions and managed to kill three Americans with my bayonet in close combat. My morale was stronger than the Americans at that point.

Can you tell us a little more about the day you killed the three American marines? How did you kill them? And how did you feel after you had killed them?

I killed the three Americans when the American forces attacked Dien Hong. We waited for them there. When they came, we engaged them in close combat. And I killed them with my bayonet.

After this battle, my morale was very high because I had contributed to the liberation of the South – to the liberation of the population in that particular area from oppression and repression. So I felt very gratified personally after the event.

What was it like to be away for this length of time and what was your thought about home?

During this long period of ten years in the South I missed my family – my parents, my wife and my children – a lot. I loved them dearly. But during this period I knew that the village, the government and the Party were helping my family. Therefore, I was not worried.

Instead, I was worrying about what I could do to repay the people in the rear, the northern population, for the support they gave me and my family. So I was resolved to help fight for the people in the South until the end so that they would be free from exploitation and repression.

Can you tell us about your friends in the army, especially your friends in the three man cell?

In the three man cell we agreed to be unanimous in all our activities. In combat, we supported each other. When in difficulties, we each had to bear our part of the burden.

We shared all our food and drink. We tried to cheer each other up. We really loved each other. We would do everything to help each other. When one member got sick, the rest took care of him so that he could recover quickly.

Could you tell us what the South Vietnamese troops were like as human beings and as soldiers?

The South Vietnamese soldiers did not have very high morale. This was because they were only mercenaries. They were afraid to die.