Harvard University presents copy of historical ephemera to Kim Lien Special National Relic site

The members of the delegation and representatives of the Department of Culture and Sports commemorate at the President Ho Chi Minh's Memorial House. Photo: Minh Quan

On the morning of April 9th, as part of their activities in Vietnam, a delegation from Harvard University (USA), led by Dr. Anthony Saich - Professor of International Affairs, Director of Rajawali Foundation Institute for Asia, John F. Kennedy School of Government, Harvard University, head of the "Unseen Legacies of the Vietnam War" project visited Kim Lien Special National Relic site (Nam Dan district). The delegation was accompanied by Mr. Bui Cong Vinh - Deputy Director of the Department of Culture and Sports.

At Kim Lien Special National Relic site, the delegation offered flowers and incense at the Memorial House of President Ho Chi Minh and visited the house of Mr. Nguyen Sinh Sac - where President Ho Chi Minh lived during his youth.

Professor, Dr. Anthony Saich (Harvard University) listens to the introduction about the Memorial Site of Uncle Ho's Father Nguyen Sinh Sac. Photo: Minh Quan

On this occasion, the delegation presented Kim Lien Special National Relic site with a copy of microfilm documents, which is a notebook from a military unit in the battlefield B3 - Central Highlands of Vietnam, expressing the soldiers’ admiration for President Ho Chi Minh - Uncle Ho, who was considered as an icon and motivation for them to fight to defend the country.

The notebook contains poems dedicated to Uncle Ho's birthday. This is truly a valuable collection of documents that reflect the love and reverence of the people for Uncle Ho. The documents were photographed on microfilm and authenticated by experts from Harvard University.

The delegation from Harvard University presents a copy of artifacts and documents to the Kim Lien Special National Relic site. Photo: Minh Quan

The delegation exchanged meaningful discussions about the artifacts and documents. Photo: Minh Quan

Earlier, in Hanoi, the Harvard University delegation met with the National Steering Committee on the Search, Collection, and Identification of Martyrs' Remains to promote cooperation, including the "Unseen Legacies of the Vietnam War" project, aimed at helping the Vietnamese government and people identify and collect remains of martyrs based on the U.S. historical documents, including millions of documents of the Vietnamese people's army seized by the U.S. on the battlefield.

This project is carried out based on the Memorandum of Understanding between the governments of Vietnam and the U.S. on implementing the "Initiative to search for Vietnamese missing in the war" signed in July 2021.

The poem "A letter to Uncle Ho" written as a birthday present to President Ho Chi Minh - a prominent poem in the notebook of a military unit on the Vietnam's Central Highlands battlefield. Photo: Minh Quan

On the afternoon of April 9th, the delegation is scheduled to present a microfilm copy of a soldier’s diary, including pages analyzing "Truyen Kieu" (The Tale of Kieu) to the Nguyen Du Museum; meet Ms. Nguyen Thi Kim Lai in Huong Khe district (Ha Tinh), the character in the photo "A small guerrilla holds a gun high...". On April 10th, the delegation is scheduled to visit the Dong Loc T-junction special national historical relic site.