Bulletins Friendship and cooperration
The historic victory of Dien Bien Phu (May 7, 1954) was a monumental achievement of the Vietnamese nation . It was the crystallization of many factors, among which the most important were the insightful leadership of the Party and President Ho Chi Minh. It was also the victory of the solidarity of the armies and peoples of the three Indochinese countries, as well as the support and assistance from other countries and international friends.
Nearly 70 years have passed since the 57 terrifying days and nights of the Dien Bien Phu campaign. Most of the French veterans who fought in Indochina, especially in the fierce battlefield of Dien Bien Phu, have passed away. Some surviving veterans, who are over 90 years old now, want to express their love for Vietnam until the end of their lives whlie others hope to bring a piece of Dien Bien land with them into the eternal afterlife. These are the feelings shared by many French veterans after leaving the Vietnam battlefield and returning to France.
There were very few French women on the Dien Bien Phu battlefield, including the secretary of De Castries and the only female nurse, Geneviève de Gallard. In the afternoon of May 7, 1954, the Dien Bien Phu campaign ended with the destruction of the entire French stronghold and the capture of all French troops, including the commanding officers and all stationed soldiers. Geneviève de Gallard was the only female prisoner, but she received the special privilege from President Ho Chi Minh and was released the earliest. She carried the gratitude towards Vietnam for the rest of her life.
Thanks to Vietnam's humane policy, many prisoner-of-war camps were established everywhere outside the battlefield, along with medical camps. Immediately after being captured, Geneviève de Gallard and French doctors, along with Vietnamese doctors, took care of the wounded prisoners. She boldly wrote a letter to President Ho Chi Minh asking for clemency, which was thus granted.
Under the direction of President Ho Chi Minh, on May 21, 1954, all severely wounded soldiers and Geneviève de Gallard were flown out of Dien Bien Phu and returned to Hanoi. Before leaving, she sent a letter of thanks to President Ho Chi Minh and the Vietnamese military for their careful care for French prisoners and wounded soldiers. At Gia Lam airport, she gave an interview to the press: “If I had known the leniency of Uncle Ho and the Vietnamese people, I would have asked to be a prisoner of war earlier.”
Returning to Paris, Geneviève de Gallard was praised by President Eisenhower and awarded the Freedom Medal. She got married two years later and lived a simple life like any other French women, but she always kept in mind the two words “Vietnam.”
Mr. Philippe de Maleissye, President of the Indochina Former Prisoners Association, highly valued the new memorabilia brought back after his seventh visit to Vietnam, including a small jar of soil and a stone from Hill A1 - where the fiercest battles of the Dien Bien Phu campaign took place. These brown soils carry a tremendous significance for French veterans because they contain both love and painful memories, as well as the regret of the soldiers who once fought in Vietnam, especially those who survived from the Dien Bien Phu battlefield.
Some other people have the desire to be buried with the soil of Dien Bien, Mr. Philippe Delarbre, director of the documentary film “Dien Bien Phu 1954 - Le Sacrifice” (Dien Bien Phu 1954 - The Sacrifice), shared: “There seems to be a mysterious connection, many French soldiers who once fought in Dien Bien Phu have a desire to be heard and understood. Why do these soldiers, after 60-70 years, want to take a piece of Dien Bien Phu soil with them when they go to the eternal afterlife? It is because there is a deep affection between the French soldiers and Vietnam. I have seen this bond in the interview with General Jacques Allaire, the former paratrooper of the Bigeard battalion who fought in Dien Bien Phu, when I made this documentary film. It is the unique affection in the world, an extremely beautiful and delicate emotional relationship between France and Vietnam. The film is a tribute to a glorious period in French history.”
Nearly 70 years later, the Dien Bien Phu campaign still haunts the involved French former soldiers. Many of them have returned to Vietnam and Dien Bien Phu to recall the days they lived and fought, and to see that their fate was much luckier than many of their comrades who sacrificed there forever. There are also many articles, books, and memoirs of French veterans who were heavily haunted by the meaningless war; however, their deep and painful memories have now been replaced by a special love for this land. /.
Uyen Nhi