The late musician Xuan Oanh is often known to the public for his famous song “August Nineteen”. His life is a typical example of knowledge, talent and art, especially in mobilizing and persuading international friends to support Vietnam during the years of resistance.
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| Late musician Xuan Oanh |
On the occasion of the 100th anniversary of the birth of the late musician Xuan Oanh (January 4, 1923-2023), the book Do Xuan Oanh - The Oanh Bird of the Revolutionary Spring was released, gathering valuable documents about his life, career and contributions to the revolution and people's diplomacy. Among them are many touching stories, expressing the respect that American friends have for him...
"International revolutionary, people's culturalist"
That is the title of an article by Ms. Merle Ratner (born in 1957), co-chair of the organization Campaign for Relief and Responsibility for Victims of Agent Orange in Vietnam (CCDS) in the US - who has devoted her whole life to the cause of fighting against war, imperialism, and fascism.
Merle Ratner met Mr. Xuan Oanh during her first visit to Vietnam around late 1985 to early 1986. Before that, from 1968, she was actively involved in the movement in the US protesting the war against Vietnam and then the movement demanding an end to the US embargo imposed on Vietnam and since the liberation day in 1975 continued to foster people's solidarity with Vietnam.
She said: “During and after that visit, musician Xuan Oanh taught me and our movement about the dialectical relationship between the military struggle for independence and building international solidarity and the support of the American people and other countries.
He also showed how, with very limited resources, a small group of dedicated people can do a lot in building people's solidarity.
Looking at the way Xuan Oanh interacted with me and others, his success in building these relationships was clearly based on a profound spirit of internationalism and love for the masses.”
Merle Ratner said that Mr. Xuan Oanh has a deep understanding not only of Vietnam but also of the United States and the world. He understands American politics and culture, including music, American colloquial expressions, the humor and straightforwardness that Americans often show.
She shared: “I recall the times we chatted, sipped wine or listened to some music with Xuan Oanh… I will always remember his kindness, intelligence, revolutionary spirit and solidarity.”
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| Mr. Tom Wilber during a visit to Mr. Xuan Oanh's house on Quan Su street, 2023. (Source: VietTimes) |
The legacy of people-to-people diplomacy remains forever
Lieutenant Colonel, US Navy pilot Gene Wilber (born 1930) returned to his homeland on February 16, 1973, after more than four years of living in Hoa Lo prison, since his plane was shot down over Nghe An province in 1968.
Thomas (Tom) Wilber - Gene Wilber's son, currently living in Connecticut (USA), remembers his father saying: "Vietnamese people do not hate America... When the planes fly overhead, Vietnamese people will point to the sky and shout 'Nixon!' ”
Therefore, he took the trouble to visit Vietnam many times, looking for witnesses, information, and documents about his father and his comrades to prove to the American public that what his father said was true about the humanitarian policy of the Government of the Democratic Republic of Vietnam (DRV) towards American prisoners of war - which for a long time the American public was skeptical and criticized.
Tom Wilber writes: “It can be said that Xuan Oanh demonstrated a high level of emotional intelligence along with extraordinary intelligence that he had acquired through self-study without the help of formal education. After the US military began bombing North Vietnam in August 1964, Xuan Oanh traveled throughout Asia and Europe representing the DRV at international peace conferences, meeting with important diplomats in many countries. He called on governments and citizens of many countries to condemn the US actions against the Vietnamese people.
Among the international citizens of peace he met on his travels were American activists, many of whom later came to Vietnam to express the support of the American people and to seek ways to better promote their desire for peace with U.S. government officials and the American public.”
Through his research, Tom Wilber said, many Americans made challenging trips to North Vietnam in early 1965, despite the ban from the US State Department. Some peace activists such as John McAuliff arrived in Hanoi on the day the Paris Agreement was signed.
Many activists shared the same feeling that the open and engaging atmosphere they had in communicating with Vietnamese people was thanks to the host - Xuan Oanh.
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| Ms. Merle Ratner takes a photo with Xuan Oanh at her home in New York, USA, in 2022. (Photo: NVCC) |
Activists Staughton Lynd and Tom Hayden detailed their trip to North Vietnam in their book “The Other Side: Two Americans Report on Their Forbidden Journey to Vietnam,” which featured Xuan Oanh not only as a guide and translator but also as someone who helped them explore Vietnam’s rich culture and heritage.
The notes illustrate Xuan Oanh’s outstanding characteristics: “Meeting Oanh gave us an insight into Vietnamese culture and social life. As we walked along Hoan Kiem Lake one evening, he began to talk about Vietnamese culture. He reminded us that the Vietnamese language is such a poetic language that ordinary conversation becomes poetry.”
Tom Wilber said that it was his time in Hoa Lo prison that helped his father understand that the Vietnamese people were only against the American government's policy of invasion, not against America and the American people. That was during the period of 1972-1973 when Mr. Xuan Oanh took on many important roles in many fields, including people's diplomacy, coordinating international delegations to visit, and even supporting the management of American prisoners of war held in prisons in Hanoi.
During that time, those who came into contact with him recognized his knowledge, artistic talent, communication skills, diplomacy and above all – his humanity as a representative of the interests of the Democratic Republic of Vietnam. Former prisoner of war Bob Chenoweth, remembered him for his deep concern, his worries about their living conditions and facilitating their safe return.
Tom Wilber shared: “At the opening of a special exhibition at the Hoa Lo Prison Museum in November 2017 on the occasion of the 45th anniversary of “Dien Bien Phu in the Air,” Chenoweth acknowledged that the life lessons he learned from the Vietnamese during his five years of imprisonment were invaluable. He expressed his deep gratitude for them helping him become a “better person” than when he arrived… Listening to Chenoweth’s words of remembrance, one sees that Xuan Oanh’s legacy of people-to-people diplomacy will always live on.”
Do Xuan Oanh, born on January 4, 1923, in Quang Yen, Quang Ninh, died in Hanoi. He was one of the participants in establishing the Vietnam World Peace Protection Committee under the direction of the Party and Uncle Ho to mobilize, call for, and gain the solidarity and support of peace-loving and progressive people in the world, especially the American and French people in our people's struggle against French colonialism and American imperialism. He was a member of the Democratic Republic of Vietnam Delegation at the Paris Conference on Vietnam from 1968 to 1972, and attended many international peace conferences. He met, interacted, and talked with many peace, cultural, artistic activists, and international friends. |
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