Talking with us are two women who have spent most of their lives, but in the black and white photo preserved for more than 70 years, Mrs. Dang Minh Chau and Mrs. Vu Thu Giang are still forever two little girls standing nestled beside Uncle Ho, holding bouquets of wild flowers given to Uncle.
The story behind that moment is so simple that every time it is mentioned, it seems that both characters also return to their childhood.
Accidentally becoming the only two children in the ceremony
Ms. Dang Minh Chau clearly remembers the photos taken with Uncle Ho. Not only because of memories, she also keeps a special proof, which is the original photo sized about 9x12cm that photographer Dinh Dang Dinh returned after taking it. Behind that photo is the line "3.3.53" written by herself when she was only about 10 years old.
I don't understand why I was only 10 years old but I already had the consciousness to write it as March 3, 1953," she recounted when mentioning the photo.
Hair has turned gray, childhood in the war zone has receded very far, but when recalling that moment, the story seems to still retain the innocence of two children who accidentally appeared at a special time in history.
Ms. Dang Minh Chau is the daughter of Mr. Dang Viet Chau (then Deputy Minister of Economy, later Minister of Industry and Trade). Mr. Dang Viet Chau was later also appointed Deputy Prime Minister of the Government in the period 1974 - 1976. During the years of resistance against France, Ms. Minh Chau often followed her father to work in the Viet Bac Safe Zone. Ms. Vu Thu Giang lived with her mother, Ms. Phan Thi An, an official of the Central Vietnam Women's Union.
According to Ms. Dang Minh Chau's memory, it was in March 1953, the two girls were playing in the area of the Central Women's Union agency. That day, a major anniversary ceremony took place. Some delegates from the enemy's rear arrived late, the two girls went with everyone to the hall.
And then Uncle Ho appeared. Forest flowers near the hall were hastily picked, tied with bows and handed to Minh Chau and Thu Giang to offer to Uncle. From two little girls who happened to follow the delegation, they became the only two children present in the frame.
That day, I happened to come to the hall to organize the anniversary and became the only two children there. And suddenly the two babies became witnesses to the unforgettable moment," Ms. Dang Minh Chau joked when recalling childhood memories.
There is a small detail that after more than 70 years of mentioning it still makes the two "baby" at that time feel shy, which is that "baby" Minh Chau smiles loudly in front of the camera, while "baby" Thu Giang just pursed her lips. The reason is that Thu Giang's two front teeth have just been replaced but new teeth have not yet grown, so she does not want to smile to reveal the gap in front of the camera. A historic moment, it turns out, was created from very simple things like that!
The photo accompanies more than 70 years of life
Not only the flower offering photo, the two girls were also recorded in the moment of dancing and singing together in the hall yard. In that photo, Uncle Ho and many people stood around watching attentively.
Decades have passed, both Ms. Minh Chau and Ms. Thu Giang no longer remember exactly what song they sang that day. The lyrics only return to vague fragments of memory. Ms. Chau still remembers her friend Thu Giang who danced more flexiblely than her. The photo of the two children standing next to Uncle Ho was later magnified into propaganda paintings, printed into postcards, appeared at many exhibitions and was redrawn and colored.
The lives of the two girls in the Viet Bac war zone that year also went through many stages and the old photo was the motivation for the two girls that year to dedicate themselves to the country.
Ms. Vu Thu Giang went to the Soviet Union in 1963 to study Construction Economics. Returning to the country, she worked as a lecturer, then became attached to the National Economics University. She once proposed to innovate the curriculum framework to include market economy subjects. Before retiring in 2000, she was awarded the title of Associate Professor and was awarded the title of Meritorious Teacher.
The photo of me and Dang Minh Chau taking pictures with Uncle Ho has been hung all over the school, so I feel honored and proud. That, according to me, throughout my time at school and at work, I always strived because I had the awareness of having taken pictures with Uncle Ho," Ms. Vu Thu Giang said, holding the childhood photo in her hand.
Ms. Dang Minh Chau also had a life of studying and working that lasted through many stages of the country. But in many of those milestones, the memories of meeting Uncle Ho always have a special place.
Meeting Uncle Ho once, but carrying that memory for life and becoming a motivation to live, is something to be proud of for the two women to preserve until today.
Although cherishing it, Ms. Dang Minh Chau donated the original photos to the Ho Chi Minh Museum of History as a way for this moment to be preserved forever, so that later generations can realize that history is not only written by feats of arms but also by moments full of love. And in the photo that has passed more than 7 decades, the two "childs" Dang Minh Chau and Vu Thu Giang are still standing there, next to Uncle Ho, in the midst of Viet Bac mountains and forests.
In November 2025, to celebrate the 55th anniversary of its establishment, the Ho Chi Minh Museum solemnly organized the 2025 document and artifact receipt ceremony.
At this ceremony, Ms. Dang Minh Chau, on behalf of her family, donated many documents and artifacts to the museum. Among them are photos of Ms. Chau when she was a child taken with President Ho Chi Minh in the Viet Bac war zone by the late photographer Dinh Dang Dinh.
At the ceremony, Ms. Dang Minh Chau also provided additional information about the timing of some photos of President Ho Chi Minh with delegates and children on March 3, 1953.
Many information posted a photo of two children offering flowers to President Ho Chi Minh taken at the time of the 1st National Congress of Heroes and Emulation Soldiers (May 1952) in Viet Bac War Zone. Ms. Dang Minh Chau affirmed that in her memory, the time the photo was born was 1953, and the Ho Chi Minh Museum also recorded this milestone.
