VietNamNet Bridge – General Mai Chi Tho (1922-2007) and his comrades had to eat small rotten fishes and boiled buffalo meat that tasted like rubber when they were imprisoned at Hoa Lo Prison in 1940-1945.

Soldiers learn more about the previous generation’s sacrifice at the exhibition. — VNS Photos Minh Thu

The story of Tho and other Vietnamese soldiers are told at an exhibition that opened on Wednesday in Hanoi.

Titled Bare Feet, Steel Will, the exhibition reflects the strong will and courage of those who followed President Ho Chi Minh’s determination to gain independence.

The exhibition depicts portraits of heroes such as Vo Nguyen Giap, Dinh Duc Thien, Mai Chi Tho and Nguyen Chi Thanh, who were excellent students of President Ho.

They devoted themselves to fight for Vietnam and contributed to the victory of Dien Bien Phu (1954) and the Ho Chi Minh Campaign (1975) as well as during the history of fighting invaders.

“During two long and arduous wars, the elite Vietnamese people entered in the war with their ‘bare feet’ and fight against the enemy by their ‘steel will’,” said Nguyen Thi Bich Thuy, head of the management board of the Hoa Lo Prison Relic, where the exhibition takes place.

“They had extraordinary strength to overcome all difficulties and challenges, with the will to win, the faith in their country without any self-interest, following the path of revolution with all their hearts.”

“As people say ‘Fire proves gold, adversity proves men’, many young revolutionary people had been trained and became matured through years and months of imprisonment in Hoa Lo, Son La, Con Dao and Buon Me Thuot. They contributed to our glorious history,” he said.

The exhibition of 250 photos and objects will run until June 15 at Hoa Lo Prison Relic, 1 Hoa Lo Street, Hanoi, to celebrate Liberation Day which falls on April 30. 

The exhibition reflects the strong will and courage of the people who decided to follow President Ho Chi Minh to gain independence.

Source: VNS