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| Foreign visitors are captivated by the exhibition. Photo VNA/VNS Phan Phương |
HÀ NỘI — A show portraying the determination of health workers at Bạch Mai Hospital as they struggled to overcome the devastating aftermath of US bombing in late December 1972 is a highlight of an exhibition now on display at the Hỏa Lò Prison Relic Site.
The show re-enacts Professor Đỗ Doãn Đại, the hospital’s director, making resolute decisions to save medical staff and patients buried beneath the rubble.
“I’m deeply moved to watch the show,” said Đỗ Doãn Bách, a representative from Đỗ Doãn Đại’s family at the exhibition ceremony.
“During B-52 bombings on Bạch Mai Hospital and Khâm Thiên Street, my grandfather made a number of critical decisions to rescue colleagues trapped in roads and shelters and to assist local residents in dealing with the devastation caused by the bombings.”
The exhibition, entitled Aspiration for Peace, displays images of 12 days and nights of fierce fighting in Hà Nội against the US air force, known in Việt Nam as Điện Biên Phủ in the Air and in the West as the 1972 Christmas bombing.
One of the photos depicts Colonel Đinh Thế Văn, the battalion commander of Battalion 77, Division 361, Air Defence – Air Force, and his comrades shooting down a B-52. Battalion 77 shot down four B-52s, making a significant contribution to the victory of the Điện Biên Phủ in the Air campaign.
More than 50 years have passed, and though time may have faded memories, that moment remains vivid and deeply etched in Văn’s mind.
“Just as President Hồ Chí Minh said, if you know your enemy and know yourself, you will win every battle,” Văn said. “You must understand what their strengths are and what their weaknesses are.
“Like many others, my unit defeated the B-52 because of the support of the entire nation behind.”
Attending the opening ceremony, Ad Spijkers from the Netherlands, who had participated in the movement supporting Việt Nam during the war, said that as a young man he had taken to the streets to protest the war in Việt Nam and to show his support for the Vietnamese people’s struggle.
He also expressed his deep emotion and confidence in the path that Việt Nam and its people are taking and emphasised Việt Nam’s position on the international stage as a responsible and active partner in the global community.
Spijkers now engages in development projects in hunger elimination and poverty reduction in Việt Nam.
The photos and exhibits are displayed in three parts with themes Blazing Memory, Waves of Anti-War and For a Blue Sky.
Blazing Memory reflects the atmosphere in northern Việt Nam in late December 1972, when the US Air Force launched air raids in Hà Nội, Hải Phòng and other provinces and cities.
Waves of Anti-War presents images of protests against the US war in Việt Nam featuring Americans joining anti-war marches, burning army draft cards, hundreds of US officers arrested for opposing the war and thousands of soldiers refusing to fight.
On the battlefields in Việt Nam, witnessing the tragic consequences of the war and the mounting casualties among their comrades, American soldiers realised the unjust purpose of the conflict and yearned to find a peaceful solution.
For a Blue Sky includes images taken during the signing of the Paris Peace Accords on January 27, 1973, which ended the war and restored peace in Việt Nam when American pilots were repatriated.
This section also highlights efforts by the governments of Việt Nam and the US to heal the wounds of war and how American veterans have since returned to Việt Nam, contributing to the building of friendship between the two countries.
The exhibition runs until December 25 at the Hỏa Lò Prison Historical Relic Site, Cửa Nam Ward. — VNS
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