More than 100 war keepsakes are displayed in a museum owned by war veteran Nguyen Manh Hiep who spent 20 years travelling to every corner of the country to look for and collect these objects.

Each object in Hiep’s museum in his house in Phu Thuong Ward, Tay Ho District, Hanoi is closely related to a story of the war. In a cozy space with some pieces of war music from an old cassette, Hiep shared with us the stories, thoughts and feelings of soldiers like him during the war and memories of that time seemed to pour out in his words.

Hiep first told us about an old walkie-talkie that was used by the military headquarters while instructing about the plans to battle with the enemies and then he introduced us, one after another, to other souvenirs that he spent no less effort and money looking for. The old war veteran nurtured an aspiration to keep the belongings of his comrades who laid down their lives in the battlefields so he was determined to establish this museum.

Over the past 20 years travelling to the old battlefields and calling at many scrap selling shops, Hiep collected a series of valuable artifacts left by the war. He sometimes very easily finds some objects, however, there are others that cost him a lot of time and effort.

He recalled in 2009 when he travelled to Khe Sanh in Quang Tri to look for a cover of a 500kg bomb.

He had to borrow money from his friends to hire a lorry from Hanoi to transport the bomb. Seeing his great zeal for the work, some of his friends brought their own war keepsakes to display in his museum.

Therefore, visiting the museum tourists are lost in war memories of the soldiers. “When we come to the museum to attend a regular meeting of the war veterans’ club, we all have special emotions and memories of our days in the old battlefields and sacrifices of our comrades cross our minds,” said Tran Quy An, an old war veteran.

We took a stroll around the 30m2 museum and we saw a series of war objects of both the American and Vietnamese armies. They include medical boxes, belts, phones and memoirs. Outside the door is the cover of a 500kg bomb and two 175mm artillery bullets which were considered the “king of the battlefield” of the American military.

Although the museum is small, it preserves memories of the soldiers and a period of the glorious history of the Vietnamese people. Hiep also collected thousands of photos, featuring activities of Vietnamese people during the resistance war against the American invaders, including the portrait photo of ten female martyrs in Dong Loc T-junction.

He confided that keeping exhibits from war is a way to commemorate his comrades who devoted their lives to the national independence.

Although being a small one among many others, this museum brings viewers to the most truthful memories about the war and thanks to those like old war veteran Nguyen Manh Hiep who tells the war stories in his own way, the young Vietnamese generation understands more about the patriotic tradition of their ancestors.

Source: VNP