Dedicate all your capital to build a spiritual project for the next generation
For nearly 30 years, Mr. Bui Xuan Phuoc - an 89-year-old veteran in Phuoc Dong commune (Nha Trang city) - has spent all his savings, even sold his house, borrowed from friends to build a memorial site for President Ho Chi Minh on his family's homeland, turning this place into a "red address" for traditional education for the younger generation.
Mr. Bui Xuan Phuoc joined the revolution at the age of 15, having gone through two resistance wars against France and the US.
After the country was unified, he returned to the old Phu Khanh province to work and participate in the establishment of the Provincial Museum. After 1989, when Phu Khanh was divided into two provinces, Phu Yen and Khanh Hoa, he was transferred to the position of Director of Phu Yen Museum until his retirement in 1995.
With the pain of having to preserve the image and spirit of Uncle Ho for many years, Mr. Phuoc started building the President Ho Chi Minh Memorial Site in October 1997.
The project was built on a 2,200m2 plot of land of the family in Phuoc Dong commune, about 10km from the center of Nha Trang city.
I hope to spread the milestones in Vietnamese history, as well as the life and career of President Ho Chi Minh, contributing to educating the younger generation to understand and appreciate national history Mr. Phuoc shared.
The memorial area is designed with two main axes with symbolic meanings: the East - West axis worshiping ancestors, the North - South axis worshiping President Ho Chi Minh and heroic martyrs.
Notable is the room displaying artifacts and documents about Uncle Ho, with a photo of Uncle Ho in a large stature in the mausoleum, installed with glass and solemnly placed at the main shrine.
All initial construction costs were spent by Mr. Phuoc himself from a small pension. When not enough, he borrowed from old friends and teammates in Ho Chi Minh City, Khanh Hoa, Da Nang; even had to sell his motorbike and a house in Nha Trang to collect more than 50 taels of gold as a fund.
By 2000, the main items such as President Ho Chi Minh's temple, temple altar, soldier monument... were completed.
"Red address" for traditional education in Nha Trang
Currently, the memorial area preserves more than 150 artifacts and documents about President Ho Chi Minh, which Mr. Phuoc has worked hard to collect, restore or have been donated by agencies and units.
Notably, there is a copy of the micro that Uncle Ho used when reading the Declaration of Independence at Ba Dinh Square in 1945.
"The collection is very elaborate and time-consuming, but I hope that people, especially the younger generation, when coming here, can feel history in the closest and most intuitive way" - he shared.
The exhibition space is arranged in each stage of his life: from his teenage years, his time traveling abroad, to important revolutionary years (19301945)... creating a seamless flow of history.
In 2013, the hall in the memorial area was built thanks to a loan of more than 250 million VND from the locality. "I use my pension to pay gradually, just hoping to have a place for the union, students, and youth to participate in traditional activities" - he said.
According to Mr. Bui Cao Phap - Vice Chairman of Phuoc Dong Commune People's Committee - The memorial area is not only a place for people and tourists to offer incense to commemorate President Ho Chi Minh, but also a place to organize important political activities such as the Party and Youth Union admission ceremony, traditional thematic activities for many units and schools in the province.
With those silent and dedicated contributions, in 2020, Mr. Bui Xuan Phuoc was honored to receive a Certificate of Merit from the Prime Minister for his outstanding achievements in studying and following Ho Chi Minh's ideology, morality and style.
