A ceremony was launched at the Hanoi Opera House on February 14 to call for donations of war keepsakes. The organisers expect to collect 20,000 war keepsakes for display.

The organising board receives war keepsakes from donors.

“The system of 120 museums in Vietnam has around 2 million war keepsakes. This number is too modest,” said Major General Le Ma Luong, Director of the Vietnam Museum of Military History and the chief organiser of the campaign.

The general said the campaign also aims to get war keepsakes held by foreigners. To date, some American veterans have presented the Vietnam Museum of Military History with many meaningful keepsakes.

Luong said the organising board will take various measures to access keepsakes which are scattered throughout the country. Local youth unions and veterans’ associations will play significant roles in the campaign.

War keepsakes must have clear identity and historical and cultural value and be able to be preserved for a long time. The organisers will pay donors some money under the museum’s regulations.

After the launching ceremony, the first war keepsakes were given to the organising board. Pham Xuan The, one of the soldiers who entered the Independence Palace, donated the soldier’s hat that he wore at that historical moment and the short gun of the President of the Saigon Regime Duong Van Minh.

“Sometimes I will have to go to the museum to see the keepsakes of my life again,” The said.

Other notable keepsakes were a handkerchief that Hero Ta Quoc Luat presented to his wife after the Dien Bien Phu victory and love story written by Nguyen Thi Ngan for her husband, though she knew that he had been killed.

The organising board received more than 400 keepsakes at the launching ceremony. General Luong believes that thousands of keepsakes will be donated in the coming time and the goal to collect 20,000 keepsakes will be achieved.

Addresses for receiving war keepsakes:

+ The Vietnam Museum of Military History, 28A Dien Bien Phu Street, Hanoi, Tel: 069.544.662 – 04.66582129.

+ Military Zone 5 Museum, 3 Duy Tan Street, Hai Chau District, Da Nang City, Tel: 069.775.092.

+ Military Zone 7 Museum, 247 Hoang Van Thu Street, Tan Binh District, HCM City, Tel: 069.665.159/08.384.21354.

+ Military Zone 9, 6 Hoa Binh Street, Can Tho City, Tel: 069.629.580 - 0710.382.2173.

+ Veterans’ Associations at all districts, cities and provinces in Vietnam.

VietNamNet/TP