The Vietnam Visionary
By Toai Nguyen
Ho Chi Minh (1890-1969)
Our renowned leader, Ho Chi Minh, died at 9:47 A.M. on the morning of September 2, 1969 from heart failure at his home in Hanoi. He was 79. News of his death was withheld from the public for 48 hours because he died on the anniversary of the founding of North Vietnam.
Born Nguyen Sinh Con on May 19, 1890 in French Indochina, he quickly mastered Chinese writing, an essential part for serious study of Confucianism. His sister, Bach Lien, was a clerk in the French Army, and one of his brothers, Nguyen Sinh Khiem, was a traditional herbalist.
Ho was a Vietnamese Communist who was prime minister(1945-55) and president(1945-69) of the Democratic Republic of Vietnam. He is often called the most famous Vietnamese of all time, and as president of North Vietnam, Ho led the struggle against the South and U.S to reunite the country. One witness said, "The way he spoke made me want to accompany him on his ideas for the rest of my life." There is a Ho Chi Minh Museum planned to be built in the next 20 or so years, and millions of Ho's loyal followers are still mourning his death sincerely.
Funeral arrangements are being handled by the Saigon Funeral Home, and the funeral will be held at 11:00 am on Wednesday, September 10 at the funeral home. Burial will follow at the Ba Dinh Square in Hanoi, Vietnam. In lieu of flowers, the family asks that you consider donations to the Hanoi Heart Failure Fund.