Hugs, flowers and tears filled Tan Son Nhat airport as Vietnamese military doctors returned home after a year serving with a UN peacekeeping mission in South Sudan.
Vietnam’s Ministry of National Defense held a welcome-home ceremony on the evening of September 27 for officers and staff of Level-2 Field Hospital No. 7 after they completed their United Nations peacekeeping mission in South Sudan.
A C-17 transport aircraft carrying members of the field hospital landed at Tan Son Nhat International Airport in Ho Chi Minh City, marking the end of their year-long deployment with the UN peacekeeping mission in South Sudan.During their year in the African country, the hospital safely treated more than 2,200 patients and successfully performed over 30 emergency surgeries, including a number of complex procedures on critically ill patients. Several difficult cases were treated at the hospital rather than being transferred to higher-level medical facilities.According to Major General Pham Manh Thang, director of the Vietnam Department of Peacekeeping Operations, Level-2 Field Hospital No. 7 earned the trust of UN leaders and personnel as well as local authorities and residents. The mission’s chief medical officer and force medical officer authorized the hospital to retain and treat a number of difficult cases that would normally have required referral, reflecting the responsibility and professional capabilities of Vietnam’s peacekeeping personnel, Thang said.
The hospital’s officers and staff upheld the traditions associated in Vietnam with “Uncle Ho’s soldiers” and the medical principle that “a physician should care for patients like a loving mother,” helping share the image of Vietnam, its military and its people with the international community.
For the returning peacekeepers, the airport ceremony brought the joy of seeing their loved ones again after a year apart, with emotional embraces, flowers and warm greetings marking their reunions.Lieutenant Colonel Tran Quang Thang said he was overcome with emotion as soon as he stepped off the aircraft and saw his wife and children below, waving to him. His daughter Minh Anh peppered her father with questions, hugged him and touched his uniform and blue beret, unable to contain her excitement at seeing him again after a year away.
Nguyen Thi Hoai Ung, from Di An Ward, came to welcome her boyfriend, Senior Lieutenant Dau Dinh Nguyen Huan. She had personally prepared several gifts to celebrate his return after the year-long deployment. She said she was delighted and proud that he had completed his mission and returned home safely.
Trinh Ngoc Thao arrived at the airport carrying a large teddy bear for his wife. It was the third international deployment for Lieutenant Colonel Tran Thuan Trang, but each time she returned, he was still unable to hide his emotion.
Lieutenant Colonel Phan The Nhat, head of the Department of Infectious Internal Medicine, fought back tears as he held his daughter throughout the welcome-home ceremony.
It was his first deployment on a UN peacekeeping mission. Nhat said that after a year in South Sudan, he had accomplished what he set out to do when he left Vietnam - fulfilling his responsibilities at Level-2 Field Hospital No. 7 and the Department of Infectious Internal Medicine while helping treat many patients.
“I have always sought to study and follow Ho Chi Minh’s thought, morality and style, to fulfill the duties entrusted to me and to help as many people as possible,” he said.
The officers and staff of Level-2 Field Hospital No. 7 prepared to return to their homes with mixed emotions. The experience accumulated over the past year will accompany Vietnam’s military medical personnel as they undertake future missions.
Vietnamnet.vn
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