"To protect Uncle Ho, one must have a clean record, a strong revolutionary ideology, be good at martial arts, and keep absolute secrets... Therefore, participating in ensuring the safety of President Ho Chi Minh is not only a responsibility but also an honor and pride that not everyone can have," Mr. Tran Nguyen Muoi recalled.
90 years old, 60 years in the Party, with silver hair, Mr. Tran Nguyen Muoi (residing in Phuc Tho commune, Nghi Loc district, Nghe An) exudes a sharp, intelligent beauty.
At the age of 18, when the Autumn-Winter border campaign was taking place fiercely, young man Tran Nguyen Muoi was present in the Nghe An Youth Volunteers team to open a strategic route from Thanh Hoa to Hoa Binh.
At the end of 1953, the mission of opening the road was completed. According to the requirements of the new mission, the Phuc Tho Youth Volunteer Regiment was transferred to the Dinh Hoa Safe Zone (ATK) (Thai Nguyen). Here, the unit was responsible for protecting the ATK entrance post and was in charge of transportation at the Coc ferry - transporting cadres to and from the ATK. At this ferry crossing the Coc stream, the young man from Nghi Loc met Uncle Ho for the first time.
It was a night in late 1953, the Phuc Tho Youth Volunteer Platoon had the task of taking a car across the stream. Everyone knew that coming out of ATK would be an important figure. It was cold, the water was flowing fast, the brothers shouted to pull the winch, quickly taking the passengers across the wharf.
"When the bus left the station, a comrade in the group asked, "Who is in charge here?" At that time, I was the platoon leader of the Youth Volunteers platoon, so I answered. The comrade came closer, leaned over to my ear, and whispered, "On the bus is Uncle Ho. You will meet him again." Hearing that, I was both nervous and happy.
When I approached, Uncle put his hand on my shoulder and asked about the health of the brothers working at the ferry. Hearing my answer, Uncle recognized my Nghe An accent and asked, "Are you from our hometown?". I replied, "Uncle, the whole platoon is from Nghi Loc, Nghe An." Hearing that, Uncle was very happy and sent the whole platoon a box of candy and a pack of cigarettes," Mr. Muoi recalled.
Unexpectedly meeting Uncle Ho in person, the young man stood motionless for a long time, until the car disappeared into the distance before he came to his senses. He ran down to the ferry terminal, sharing his joy with everyone. When they learned that they had just served Uncle Ho, everyone was happy. They were even happier when they received a gift from Uncle Ho.
After the Dien Bien Phu campaign was victorious, Mr. Muoi's unit was ordered to leave ATK and return to Hanoi to prepare to welcome the Central agencies back. Mr. Muoi was selected to join the parade to celebrate the liberation of the capital, welcoming Uncle Ho back after 9 years of resistance.
On October 10, 1954, from 5 Cua O, amidst the solemn music, the joyful cheers of the Capital's people, and the forest of flags and flowers, the victorious army entered the inner city. This was the second time Mr. Muoi saw Uncle Ho with his own eyes. And he could not have imagined that, just a short time later, he would become a security soldier, protecting Uncle Ho at the Presidential Palace.
In April 1955, young man Tran Nguyen Muoi was transferred to the Police, attending the "training 3" class in Ha Dong. After completing the course, the young soldier received a decision to work at Room 1, Guard Department - Ministry of Public Security, with the task of protecting Uncle Ho at the Presidential Palace, where he lived and worked from December 1954.
"The work of protecting Uncle Ho was extremely strict with 3 layers. The outermost layer was in charge of the army, followed by guard stations manned by the Department of Undercover Police, whose duty was to protect him 24/7, and finally, Uncle Ho's bodyguard force.
Due to the special importance of the mission, those participating in protecting Uncle Ho were carefully selected from many units, and had to meet many strict criteria regarding political qualities, ideology, ethics, martial arts skills, and absolute secrecy... Therefore, for guards like us, this is a mission and also an honor and pride," Mr. Tran Nguyen Muoi shared.
Also because of the special importance of the task, each guard shift of the police security force at the Presidential Palace only lasts 1 hour, the shifts change 24/7, each person takes on 2 shifts a day, during the day and at night.
In addition to guard duty, everyone has the duty to practice the skills of a security guard and study politics and culture. When he left his hometown to join the resistance, Mr. Muoi had just finished 4th grade. During his time on duty here, while completing his duty as a guard, soldier Tran Nguyen Muoi completed his high school education program, then had the honor of joining the ranks of the Communist Party of Vietnam.
"In addition to training and studying, we actively increase production. Uncle Ho said that a piece of land about one meter wide can grow two eggplants, so we can have food and exercise," said Mr. Muoi.
After more than 2 years of performing duties at Department 1 - Security Department, Mr. Muoi was transferred to Department 3. This unit is responsible for ensuring absolute safety for guests (foreign leaders) when visiting Vietnam and on President Ho Chi Minh's business trips.
According to Mr. Muoi, this is a really difficult task, reactionary forces, sabotage forces and enemy henchmen can be mixed in everywhere. Meanwhile, Uncle Ho was always close to the people, wherever he went, he always wanted to meet the people directly to listen to their thoughts and aspirations. Therefore, sometimes the guards had to go a month in advance, "clean" the area, eliminate all risks to ensure absolute safety for President Ho.
In 1965, Mr. Tran Nguyen Muoi was transferred from the Guard Department - Ministry of Public Security to take up a position at the Military Region 4 Command. From 1965 to the end of 1966, he was responsible for protecting the safety of the Political Commissars of Military Region 4 such as Lieutenant General Dong Sy Nguyen and Lieutenant General Le Hien Mai.
In mid-1967, Mr. Tran Nguyen Muoi accompanied the Commander and Political Commissar of Military Region 4, Le Quang Hoa, and the Military Region delegation to attend the Congress of heroic soldiers determined to defeat the American invaders. This was also the time when Company 22, Battalion 4, Artillery Regiment 222 shot down an F8U aircraft at Om Bridge, Do Luong District (Nghe An) - the 1,900th aircraft shot down in the North.
The heroic delegation and emulation soldiers of Military Region 4 were honored to meet Uncle Ho and were invited to dinner by him.
"The driver and I were eating outside in the car when one of Uncle Ho's attendants came out and told him to call us in to eat together. The meal included fish, a plate of water spinach, a plate of fried eggs, a bowl of soy sauce and a bowl of pickled eggplant. Uncle Ho said, "The fish was caught in the pond, the water spinach was grown by ourselves, the eggs were raised, the pickled eggplant was also grown by our brothers in the garden at the Presidential Palace, and the soy sauce was given to me by the people of Nghe An."
Uncle asked about the fighting situation and the lives of the people of Military Region 4, and encouraged the soldiers to continue competing to make achievements to soon drive out the American invaders. Throughout the meal, Uncle kept feeding us, urging us to eat, but being able to sit close to Uncle, to eat with Uncle, we were so happy that we forgot to eat," Mr. Muoi recalled about the special meal that he called "the best meal" of his life.
During the 10 years of protecting Uncle Ho, Mr. Muoi's impression of the head of state was that he was simple and close, with no distance between the President and the guards or the people.
"Uncle Ho lived close to the masses, especially those with shortcomings. He said that people with shortcomings must be close to them so that they do not feel inferior, and must help them correct their mistakes and progress. He said that communists, no matter what they do or where they go, must speak and act exemplary, must lead themselves before they can lead others," Mr. Muoi confided.
After holding many positions, in 1984, Captain Tran Nguyen Muoi retired. Returning to his hometown, he continued to take on many tasks in local political organizations. Learning from Uncle Ho, he lived uprightly, honestly, and thriftily, fought fiercely against wrongdoings, and was close to the people... His pride was that his children grew up, followed in his footsteps, and served in the military and police.
Dantri.com.vn
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