At the invitation of the US Institute of Peace, Lawyer Nguyen Xuan Binh, Vice Chairman of Vietnam Martyrs' Family Support Association, and a delegation set out for the US to attend the 2nd Annual Dialogue on War Legacies and Peace in Vietnam, Laos and Cambodia. 

He wrote about his impressions and feelings after the trip. Here is his article.

On the morning of Saturday, September 16, the US time, we left Washington DC for New York. American veterans told us before that they wanted to meet me in Philadelphia to hand over a memento of a Vietnamese martyr.

At 8 am, a car picked us up at Shakespeare Theatre. After two hours, we arrived in Philadelphia. On the way there, we contacted and kept a connection with Bob Conner, 76, an American veteran.

We had only one hour for the meeting, so we had to be very urgent and accurate.

Finally, we decided to meet each other at the place where the famous Liberty Bell, the symbol of the free world, is located. The bell once rang calling Philadelphia’s people to come hear the American Declaration of Independence. It was also the bell that rang to signal the end of slavery.

I quickly took a picture for a souvenir with the special bell. When I walked out, I saw my old friend Bob Conner standing there.

Thang and Tien, the other two members of our delegations who had a previous relationship with Bob, and have been cooperating in many projects. They walked up and hugged him, and were moved and happy.

After a while, Richard Magner, 77, whom we met in Washington DC, who drove a car for two hours, turned up. I was introduced to them as deputy chair of the Vietnam Martyrs' Family Support Association.

After tight handshakes, Bob emotionally told me that his brother had died in the war in Vietnam. He feels attached to and loves the country and people of Vietnam and he wants to contribute to the search and identification of the graves of soldiers who died in battle in Vietnam.

I clasped his hand warmly again, sharing with him the sad memory about the brother who died in battle. At the same time, I said thanks for his contributing to the search and identification of martyrs' graves. We also promised to work together more closely for this noble work.

As the time was limited, Bob Conner gave us a Vietnamese-styled soldier hat with the inscription about its owner – Nguyen Ngoc Tho, and his enlistment in July 1968.

We received the hat, respected and cherished the priceless remembrance, and pledged to make every effort to find and transfer it to the martyr’s family.

Later, Thang and his co-workers searched for information via many different channels and found the family which has information matching the words on the hat.

Statue of Liberty in New York

It was not the first time I had been to New York. So, the feelings from the last time I visited the city, more than a decade ago, suddenly came back.

New York welcomed us with bustling streams of cars. The iron bridges, hundreds of years old, were still elegant and sturdy, connecting the two river banks, in the past and present.

The car took us straight to a ferry. The ferry became full and departed. Tourists of all ages and skin colors were extremely excited.

We enjoyed the sea breeze and bright sunlight. A moment later, the music played a fun, exciting tune. Hundreds of young people on the deck joined in singing. It was exciting and great!

The city on the two banks of river, with skyscrapers, modern and strong, attracted the eyes of travelers.

The ferry went around the New York Bay and came closer to Liberty Island. People felt excited and took a lot of pictures with the Stature of Liberty, which has been standing there for more than 100 years, with torch held high. True freedom is always the burning desire of each person, each nation, and the entire human race.

I wanted to say to the friends I met there that I was from Hanoi, Vietnam, the home country of President Ho Chi Minh, with the undying truth ‘Nothing is more precious than Independence and Freedom’.

Nguyen Xuan Binh