Nguyen Dinh Tu’s interview (Part 2)

Nguyen Dinh Tu, pen name Nguyen Tu, is a famous correspondent of Chinh Luan, one of the most prestigious daily news of Vietnam before 1975.

The interview was on 05/07/2003 in Alexandria, Virginia

Interviewer: Le Manh Hung, historian, author of Vietnamese History In Retrospect.

Translated by Phan Le Dung.

Nguyen Đinh Tu’s interview (Part 1, Part 2, Part 3, Part 4, Part 5)

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LMH: The end of August 1945?

NT: The end of August.  I was detained on 8/19.  Ah, I had to speak right away about this.  When we were at the Sûreté’s office, there was news that Nguyen Hai Than, and then Vu Hong Khanh, and Truong Boi Hoang, no it was not Truong Boi Hoang, Nghiem Ke To and Nguyen Kim Thanh or Tran Kim Thanh, I forgot, perhaps Nguyen Kim Thanh; All of them had returned to Vietnam.

LMH: If that is the case I think it must have been later, since according to the documents it ‘s not until October or November 1945 that the Chinese came to Vietnam.  They did not come before that time?

NT: I don’t know one way or the other.  That was what I had heard.  Just rumor that Nguyen Hai Than and others had returned.  I did not know whether that was true.  First, there was no newspaper.  Then I was brought to Thai Nguyen directly and was in prison for 4 months there. At the beginning of December I was suddenly released.  I was called up alone and released.  There ‘s something I want to tell you right away.  When I was brought to Thai Nguyen prison, there were two young inmates lying next to me.  About one or two weeks later, I found out both of them were also Dai Viet ‘s members.  These two were professional stealers.  They jumped into the train, stealing things and then jumped out.  One of them is –well, I forgot both of the names.  One of them was very good at martial arts.  After talking, we were very close with one another.  One man was older than me, the other was either older or the same age as me, I am not sure.  They both naturally respected me as if I belonged to a rank higher than theirs.  When they told me about themselves, I carefully questioned them and found out that these two were in Dai Viet ‘s assassin cell.  They were captured not during an assassination assignment, but were captured because of a leak.  They described how the Dai Viet ‘s hideaway was leaked and how they were captured and brought to Thai Nguyen.  After talking to me they both assumed that I was their upper class man, but I never considered them my junior class men.  [In our prison] there were large beds with wooden shackles at the end.  Prisoners were shackled at night in a large bed for either 8 or 10 persons.  These shackles were opened in the morning.  Daily food was thick rice porridge.  Sometimes we only had rice with salt. After 4 months in prison,  I then knew the female ward. Later, I knew Madame Trinh Thi Oanh was there and then there was another lady, Madame Nhu, whose husband was an engineer, was also there.  Hence people called her Madame Engineer Nhu.  She was also a Dai Viet member.  When I was called out for release, I did not know how she knew about the news.  When I was on my way, there was a person handing me tens of dollars saying it was from Madame Nhu.  I said hurriedly: Please thank her for me.  Those tens of dollars was a very large amount of money then.  I went to the office and met a cadre there, a very decent cadre.  I was not sure whether he was a party member. He said: Well now that you are freed, don’t do anything else.  Please sign the paper.  He gave me 20 dollars. This 20 dollars was from the government.  He showed me the way and said:  Here, you hang onto this paper, go to that place, that bus station.  There were a few shops there.  Just show them the paper, tell them to bring you to Hanoi.  You do not have to pay anything.  I listened to him and went there as I was told.  I was so hungry when I went there and I saw a beef soup shop, but I did not come in yet.  I went to a bus near there and showed the driver my paper, but the driver refused to let me get onto the bus.  I thought they told me that they would let me go, but here I was, I could not even get on the bus. Hung, can you believe how innocent I was?  I returned to the prison, requesting to see the cadre who issued my paper.  I told him: please help me, they don’t accept this paper.  Too angry, the cadre shouted:  I will go with you.  He called a rickshaw and we both got in.  When he got there, he asked: Who ‘s in charge of this bus?  Here, you, could I entrust you with this man? Bring him to Hanoi for me, won’t you? The driver said:  Yes sir, I will, Yes sir. . .  Turning to me, the cadre said:  Now, I let you go.  If anything happens, do let me know.  Understanding the cadre ‘s warnings, the driver quickly said:  Please be assured, I will drive the young man home.  Then I went into the shop to eat Beef Soup.  When I got to Hanoi, I did not know where to go.  I did not dare to go home.  I went to Sugar Street.  That ‘s the home of a friend who also went to Lycée.  He was also a Dai Viet ‘s member, but he went to Lang Son on the party ‘s assignment.  His family knew me.  His sister told me.  You have just returned, please stay here.  I said: Alright.  I went to Lan ‘s place, the Doctor ‘s house.  The doctor was very happy to see me. I told Lan ‘s family everything.  His father told me: Son, please stay here. Please stay here, son.  I stayed there for a day, then the next day I met a young man named Huong.  He ‘s from Vietnam ‘s central region, also a Dai Viet ‘s member, working in Dai Viet ‘s financial section.  Knowing that I just got out of prison, he gave me 40 dollars, a lot of money then.  I stayed at the doctor ‘s house, a very quiet place.  With enough food to eat, I recovered.  However the penis really hurt.  I told the doctor.  He examined and said:  It ‘s alright.  Don’t worry. The pain will go away.  I stayed there for a few days and then suddenly there ‘s news from the contact man.  He said Mr. Phuong (Truong Tu Anh ‘s nickname) asked you to go to Yen Bai to attend the military school.  He gave me the address.  I came there and that was the private hospital of Mr. Dang Vu Lac.  Dang Vu Lac and Dang Vu Tru went to the same school and knew one another.  I knew Dang Vu Tru was a Dai Viet member, but Dang Vu Tru was not present then.  He just disappeared and.  later, was found missing.  We all gathered there.  When I arrived the place was already very crowded.  I recognized a lot of friends from Lycée.  We slept there.  Next morning we went to the rail station at Grass Street (Hang Co) and boarded the train going to Yen Bai.  At Yen Bai, I attended Tran Quoc Tuan Military Infantry School.  From then on I went in the military direction.

LMH: When you were at Yen Bai attending the infantry school, would you tell me about your school activities and your classmates?  Do you still remember any of them?

NT: When I arrived, the school was already crowded.  The school was organizing classes.  Then, on the first day, we did not meet any Japanese officers.  We knew we would be trained by Japanese officers, but we had not met any.  Hoi was there and then there ‘s his younger adopted brother Tung.  There ‘s also Cuong.  Cuong did not study at Lycée, but he was the doctor ‘s nephew.  The doctor at whose house I had stayed earlier.  Eventually, I found out there were more and more Dai Viet ‘s members.  Bui Diem was not there yet.  He came later.  I didn’t even know when he came.  There were three other young men, they were Mr. Do Quang Giai ‘s sons.  We all went to Lycée.  Thang, the eldest one and the youngest one were Lycée ‘s students, but not the middle one.  Then there were So.  I was in school of ancient languages, but others were in school of science.  But we all knew one another. There were Hoang, So, Lung and then later there were Mr. Sung ‘s two younger brothers, Nghien and But.  We recognized one another there, but had not met before.  The same with So.  He was also a Dai Viet member, but not in the same cell.  So was Lung.  So was Hoang.  All of us were in different cells.  The three brothers were also Dai Viet ‘s members in different cells.  And the third person, Thang, was not present.  Thang was an excellent shooter, near-sighted, but famous for his shooting.  Later all three died.  Poor Hoang and Lung.  Thang died in a different place.  So also died.  He died because he did not listen to me. Poor So.  The reason was this, when Viet Minh overran Lao Cai, I still came out to look.  They gathered and had a meeting right in front of the Treasury Office.  I came out and observed to see what they did.  Since I had seen that, when I was captured the second time, I was not surprised at all.  They did exactly as they had done before.  After tens of years, their methods were still the same.  What they did was making a formal announcement, and they also had that announcement broadcasted on the radio.  Since they knew about the cadets of Tran Quoc Tuan infantry school.  They said all should report and they will issue free passes for those who did.  They did issue free passes, printed clearly.  I was also there.  But unfortunately, I could not convince my friends.  Nghien and But did not listen.  Lung did not listen, So did not listen, Hoang did not listen.  We met and discussed.  I told them: I will escape to Ha Noi and you all also should escape to Ha Noi.  We all go.  Wait for the train and then disperse ourselves.  None of us should stay in the same car.  Nghien and But said No and showed me their free pass permit.  I said.  Please throw those away.  I kept on begging them, but they still wouldn’t listen.  Finally, I said, Why are you all so stupid?  They issued those pass permits to trap you.  None listened to me.  All fell for that trap and got captured.  And I will go into detail why the infantry school got destroyed and also the unworthy deeds of Viet Nam Quoc Dan Dang, of Vu Hong Khanh.  Those deeds were deeds that befitted the pirates, not revolutionaries.

LMH:  When you were at the infantry school, what month of 1946 was that?

NT:  May, 1945 and [I was] there tilli the end of November, then December; I got back to Hanoi in 1946.

LMH: But when was the time that the infantry school was at war?  When did the fighting start?

NT: Well, let me see, I was captured, wounded here at the Yen Bai battle; the Blanc Plantation battle– previously that plantation was the French ‘s Tea Plantation.  Then it was still summer 1946.  I forgot the month.  I knew it was summer because when we marched, on the way to fight, it was right in the middle of summer, very hot.  Then I fought them in that battle.

LMH: When did Viet Minh attack Yen Bai?

NT: Summer 45, Excuse me, summer 46.

LMH: And what ‘s the training program like?

NT: The program includes: Fundamental Exercise, and the pace was very fast.  Let me tell you.  I stayed at Yen Bai for a few months then there was an order to go to Sa Pa.  I went to Sa Pa, returned to Yen Bai, then the fighting started.  Let me see:  I was wounded in summer, went to Sa Pa, returned to Yen Bai, then fighting started, then went to Sa Pa again, returned to Lao Cai and then Lao Cai fell. I only remembered the fighting that started in summer.  I was wounded in the back.  The scar is still here now.

LMH: So after the battle of Yen Bai, after you had lost, then the army retreated to Lao Cai?

NT: Yes, the army retreated to Lao Cai, our soldiers, our school retreated to Lao Cai.  The fighting continued in Lao Cai, spreading to Pho Lu and then we actually lost at that point.  We ran out of ammunition.  We also ran out of food, but the side of Vu Hong Khanh declined to send us supplies.  Then Mr. Hai, head of the town committee, was very dedicated to the school, till the last minute.  Later I heard that he was dead, shot dead.  He was a very dedicated man, a very good man.

LMH:  Why after retreating to Lao Cai, the cadets did not retreat to China?

NT:  Then it was not that dangerous yet.  The pressure was not strong.  When the pressure became tremendous, we retreated to China.

LMH: You said when the army was in Lao Cai, there were a few who came out to surrender Viet Minh to get free passes to return to . . .

NT: Well, No.  That ‘s when they had occupied Lao Cai.  Then a few ran out.  Pham Xuan Chieu had also run away.

LMH: to China?

NT: ran to China.  I did not run, partly because my wound had not healed completely, partly because I wanted to stay.  Then I was all by myself, completely free and with absolutely no obligations of any kind.  And then there ‘s this thing, a pretty painful thing to tell.  The school divided cadets into three groups A, B, C, because there were simply too many cadets.  Group A, B went to Yen Bai first.  Group C went after a few months.  Pham Van Lieu was in group C that came later.  Hence, Group C lost a few months of training.  Lieu stayed back in group C.  And there were members of Quoc Gia Thanh Nien Doan and members of Quoc Dan Dang.  All were allowed to come in as cadets.  There was also another man named Ngo Van Sung, a medical student who also arrived late and hence stayed with Group C.  Later, Sung became a medic for the school.  He was the one who had treated my shoulder wound.  He is now living in California.  He later got married with a niece of the doctor.  Sung was a very good man.

LMH:  Did the infantry school at Yen Bai belong to Dai Viet exclusively or jointly owned with Quoc Dan Dang?

NT: Jointly owned, but all Japanese training officers were Dai Viet ‘s members.  They went with Dai Viet and accepted Dai Viet.  The school belonged to Dai Viet, but there was an agreement with Viet Nam Quoc Dan Dang, so VNQDD’s members were allowed in, but the flag was Dai Viet ‘s flag.

LMH: And what month was it that you returned to Hanoi from Lao Cai?

NT: Around the end of November, or the beginning of December, because I remember that by 16th of December I had already returned for a few weeks.  Perhaps the end of November.

LMH: And when the government tried to reconcile with other political opponents you were at Yen Bai and hence did not?

NT: Yes.  At Yen Bai.  I knew nothing about the conflict between Nationalist-Communist, and then the news about Congress were all news that I had heard later.  Then, at Yen Bai, military training was the only thing on my mind.

LMH: So when did you first know Uncle Dang Van Sung?

NT: I knew uncle Sung when I was in infantry school, and uncle Sung went there to visit.  I was guarding the school.  Then I also saw Nguyen Tuong Bach.  He had arrived probably a few days before or after uncle Sung.  Nguyen Tuong Bach did talk to other cadets, but I was on duty as a guard and could not join.  When Sung arrived, I saw him very clearly, wearing shorts, looking very healthy.  At school, Sung had met with Nghien, But and Sung knew me.  We knew one another, but we were not close yet. We knew we were on the same side.

LMH: So before you met uncle Sung at Yen Bai, you did not know he was also a Dai Viet ‘s member?

NT: No. I did not. I joined Dai Viet even before Sung.

LMH: So Mr. Sung joined Dai Viet later?

NT: Later, later, he had also met Mr. Phuong.

LMH: So when you fought the Viet Minh at Yen Bai.  Did you know whether the French give any aid to Viet Minh?

NT: No, I did not know.  But when we fought them we found out that their firepower was more powerful than ours.  We had fewer rifles.  I had to go through a lot of trouble to get a mousqueton for myself.  The same was true for others.  We did not have enough rifles for all.  Food was also lacking.  When the fighting got rough, we felt that we were the underdogs.  Though our fighting spirit was high and the Japanese training officers were also very dedicated.  They also fought side by side with the cadets.

LMH: Do you know what happened to those Japanese officers?

NT: I knew that they were killed near Coc Leu bridge.  I did not know the reason. They were all killed, killed secretly.  The principal was the only one who survived.  He did not escape. He feigned madness. Then he returned to Japan.  Later, there were a few in our group who went to Japan to visit him.

LMH: But who killed those Japanese officers?

NT: Viet Nam Quoc Dan Dang, those who served under Vu Hong Khanh.

LMH: And the Viet Minh was better equipped. Did you know whether they were able to buy their weapons from the Chinese or whether the French gave them weapons?

NT: No.  That I absolutely did not know.  Later, we heard about that, but then none of us knew anything about the relationship between the French and Viet Minh.  It was much later, about one or two years later, we heard about the news, read in the magazines and then we deduced that it might have been the case.  That was it.  We never had any definite knowledge about the relationship between the French and Viet Minh.  Later, we learned about the Fontainebleau negotiation, but we knew nothing when we were up there.

LMH:  Thank you uncle.

Nguyễn Đình Tú 2- VP-LMH-A068

LMH: Now, please let me ask you a few things, first how long did you attend Yen Bai Infantry Military School?

NT: I went there at the end of 1945 and then returned in Autumn 1946.  Then we had already lost Lao Cai.  We had to return, all of us were scattering.  At the end of 1945, I had been detained for 4 months, which was then around November or December.  I arrived at Yen Bai around November or December.  The trip to get there took only a few days.  I trained there and then went to Sa Pa.  We trained a lot in Sa Pa.  From Sa Pa we then returned to Yen Bai.  The fighting started after we returned to Yen Bai.  We fought until all the Japanese training officers were killed by VNQDD under Vu Hong Khanh except the school commandant.  The school ended after all the training officers were killed.  Then the Viet Minh pressure was tremendous.  They were approaching and were very near Lao Cai, but the cadets at school still had to clear the blockage many times.  When it became too dangerous Vu Hong Khanh escaped first and then all the VNQDD cadets ran after.  I stayed.  That ‘s generally how it was.  But if we go into details as your first question about the organization, the daily activities, I can elaborate since I think it ‘s something we should know to appreciate the regretful loss of the school.

LMH: Yes.  I will ask about that subsequently, but I would like to confirm that the time you got to Yen Bai was approximately November or December 1945.  So when did the fighting start and when did the training officer get killed by VNQDD? Would you let me know the time?

NT: I could not remember exactly, but fighting with Viet Minh was right at Yen Bai, not at Lao Cai.  The fighting started that summer of 1946 and then continued on till . . .

LMH: Do you remember specifically what month that was?

NT:  I remember it was very hot, probably it was June, No July.  July because it was very hot there, much hotter than in Ha Noi.  The fighting continued till we had to retreat to Lao Cai.

LMH: How long have you been able to hold out prior retreating to Lao Cai?

NT: About 2 months. I was wounded when we retreated to Lao Cai.  I was wounded in Yen Bai and then we retreated to Lao Cai.

LMH: Yes, now please tell me about the organization and the daily activities at Yen Bai Military Infantry School.

NDT: When I arrived at Yen Bai, a few cadets had been there.  They just got there.  The organizing process just started.  We were grouped into teams. Those who arrived before me were in team A. I arrived a few days later and was in team B.  In the beginning there were only two teams.  There were about 100 cadets in each team.  I am not sure about the exact number, but it was around 100.  The team was not meant to be a squat, platoon, or company.  We were just grouped into teams.  Then we were further divided into platoons.  The size of each platoon was based on the Japanese ‘s platoon size.  But there were not enough cadets to form platoons exactly the size of Japanese platoons.  Each platoon had only 7 or 8 persons.  We also formed companies, but they were not real companies.  We often had our activities accordingly.  Our activities were more often that of a squat ‘s since we did not have enough cadets.  In school, besides the commandant, there was a vice commandant, and then there were 7 group leaders.  Later there were one or two more group leaders.  When we were at Yen Bai, about two months later, another group of cadets joined us.  They belonged to the National Youth Union(Thanh Nien Quoc Gia Doan).  Pham Van Lieu also came with that group.  When they arrived we had already trained for two months and they were two months late.  The Japanese training procedure was very interesting.  Cadets first learned basic exercises, then squat deployment, then shooting exercises.  Shooting exercises were really funny.  Only a few cadets had real rifles, the rest had to exercise with wooden guns, urgently made by the provincial committee so that cadets could have something to train.  We mostly trained with wooden rifles, and also there was bamboo there.  Bamboo was cut and then sharpened, making it a kind of weapon.  We trained on how to walk, how to stand, how to observe, how to stay on guard: How to do these during the daytime and nighttime. We also trained how to advance, retreat.  Besides these fundamental exercises, we started to learn about tactics.  One special thing about the training program was that the divisional concept was taught right away.  The notion of division was brought up.  Then, it was impossible to say that we would be able to apply that concept, but the teaching was inspiring.  Teaching thoroughly about the divisional maneuvers would have been impossible, but the training officer taught what was called fictional tactics, fictional strategies.  His method was interesting: he said, since you all would be commanders and I have decided to bring these topics into the curriculum.  The teaching was not in detail.  Just general enough so that cadets could see how a squat, a platoon, a company or a battalion is related to a division. These concepts were taught, but not in detail as other more fundamental concepts such as how to fight, how to deploy, how to advance and how to retreat.  The stress was on the fundamental concepts.  The fictional tactics and strategies would be taught often once every other week.

LMH: At that time was Yen Bai under the control of Dai Viet or VNQDD?

NT:  The school belonged to Dai Viet.  But cadets were both Dai Viet members from provincial committees and VNQDD members.  Later, it dawned on me that Mr. Truong Tu Anh was merging the two parties.  Both parties had become one under the name Nationalist Party (Quoc Dan Dang).  There was neither a distinct Dai Viet nor a distinct VNQDD.  It was only later when Vu Hong Khanh had escaped to the North, to Lao Cai and no longer at Yen Bai, that we saw the distinction between Dai Viet and VNQDD.  The school could be seen as Dai Viet ‘s representative.  Later, it was Vu Hong Khanh who had destroyed the school.  He did not help the school wholeheartedly.  Specifically speaking, cadets did not have enough food.

LMH: The previous day, you had talked about what was called the betrayal of VNQDD.  Would you let me know a few things about what you called the betrayal acts of VNQDD?

NDT: If we have to specify specifically which event in detail then I do not have evidence.  But it was so apparent at school:  First, VNQDD had used school as the main force to protect Yen Bai-VNQDD soldiers.  Whenever there was pressure, they would resort to cadets at school.  Cadets had to go to fight as far as Lu street, relieving the Communist ‘s pressure on Lao Cai, protecting the Vu Hong Khanh ‘s group.  The Vu Hong Khanh group stayed at their own private place and never considered the cadets at school their comrade.  It was very apparent.  Firstly, Food.  Previously, at Yen Bai, Mr. Hai, provincial committee chairman, was very supportive.  He would take care of everything.  Though there was not enough food, we still had something to eat.  When we were at Yen Bai, we were hungry, so hungry that even the Japanese training officers had to complain.  The training officers were always well provided with food, but Vu Hong Khanh was very discriminatory toward Dai Viet members.  Bao Ngoc, Vu Hong Khanh and Trieu Viet Hung were the three names that I would never forget.  They were, one might say, cruel to the Dai Viet members, always looking down on the Dai Viets. Their true nature was best shown when there were pressures.  For example, when cadets went to Coc Leu market.  There was no market at Lao Cai, cadets had to go to Coc Leu to buy food. The food for Vu Hong Khanh ‘s group was great food while cadets had to get by with very poor food, at best, few vegetables and never any meat.  We got used to those which were OK, but Vu Hong Khanh ignored even the wounded. He never went to visit or asked after them.  Secondly, at Lao Cai, my team B had to stay at a guard post on the hill.  That hill was exclusively for provincial guards (milicien à ceinture blue).  There was only one road leading to that hill.  The A team was down at the valley, inside Lao Cai.  There was always a wall of separation between the A team and the B team, almost no relationship between the two.  Later when I met Pham Xuan Chieu. I will talk more about this later. Later, team C also brought a few members into team B.  They were all under my command, but Pham Van Lieu was not one of them.  He was on the other part of team C.

LMH: So, the headquarters was under Vu Hong Khanh? Meaning the school and cadets were under their command without a separate headquarter?

NT: The headquarters were the training officers.  When there were orders the training officers had to go with the cadets.  The training officer would go with the cadets to direct how to fight.  This was also exactly what happened when we fought at Yen Bai, when I got wounded.  The training officer went with cadets but there were no VNQDD members. VNQDD members were in town.  The camp was an old French camp, completely separate. Headquarters were the training officers not related to Vu Hong Khanh at all, until Vu Hong Khanh escaped from Ha Noi, to Yen Bai and then to Lao Cai immediately.

LMH: No, I would like to confirm, the common general headquarters, not the unit headquarters, the headquarters which gave out orders to the units.  This headquarters was separate and under the control of VNQDD?

NT: Yes.  That ‘s true. Since all cadets, even in Team A, did not know for sure.  All we knew was that there ‘s an order for such and such units going to such and such places.  Then the school commandant and the Japanese officers designated such and such units to go and the officers would go with us.  During those times there weren’t any direct contact between the school with the Vu Hong Khanh ‘s side, or there might have been some contact channels but the cadets were not aware.

LMH: You said at Coc Leu, all Japanese officers were murdered, except the school commandant, would you go into more details concerning these?

NT: Nobody had any detail. The entire school did not know, well after they were murdered.  When we went there, there were still blood stains, and we were told that the murderers were after their gold.  I only heard and had no evidence.  When the Japanese officers came to Dai Viet, each of them had some gold.  These were not gold that Dai Viet paid.  When they went to Dai Viet, it was voluntary service.  And they did die in their services.  My Japanese instructor, the officer responsible for Team B, died in my hands when we fought at Yen Bai.  We had a few battles.  In previous battles I was not hit, but in the last one when we tried to relieve the Viet Cong ‘s pressures from Yen Bai coming up to Blanc plantation, I was hit.  That battle was one or two months away from the previous one.  Mr. Quoc, the Japanese instructor, died there.  Another Japanese officer was hit.  I was not sure if Mr. Quoc was the only one who died, but I knew for sure Mr. Quoc died because he died when I was holding him.

LMH: Now, continue on with that time when you from Lao Cai returned to Ha Noi, which was December 1946?

NT: At the end of November, ah I went back before then, later I witnessed the fighting on December 19.  I witnessed the explosion at 8:00pm, I went back before December 19 a few weeks, about 2,3 weeks before.

LMH: During the time that the French attacked Hanoi, December 19, what were you doing?

NT: Well, when I returned, which was about 2, 3 weeks before the fighting, I was wandering around, having lost all contacts, not knowing what to do and had no news about Mr. Phuong (Truong Tu Anh).  I just went searching (for news aboutTruong Tu Anh) and when all of my search failed, I went back to the Doctor ‘s house which was Tran Mong Lan ‘s parents’.  They knew me and also knew my family so they told me:  You stay here, son.  I stayed there about a week before Dec 19 and then the fighting started on Dec 19.

LMH: And what did you do that day?

NT: Nothing.  Because when there was fighting nobody went out to the street.  We could still go out, but we might die because there was fighting.  And the house of that doctor, located right in front of the IDEO (Imprimerie de l’Extreme Orient) printing company.  That printing company was huge and it was burning with roaring fire.  On the opposite side of the printing company, the whole street remained intact with neither fire, nor Viet Minh attack or search.  Just about a few hundred meters down the Do Huu Vi street, roughly about 500 meters, many houses were searched by Viet Minh. But this section was left alone.  Having burned the IDEO Printing company, the Viet Minh retreated.

LMH: And the French took control of that section afterward?

NT: They retook it much later. They took control of things pretty quick.  First they took control of the power plant and then the water treatment plant. The doctor ‘s house was near the power and water treatment plant, hence it was quickly back to normal.  The French patrolling activities did not span out that far and the Viet Minh did not conduct their search there either.  That street section was left almost completely intact.

LMH: That meant you were not forced to flee?

NT: I could not have gone even if I wanted to because fighting was still going on.  All city gates were closed. The fighting was going on in the heart of Hanoi.  It was difficult, very difficult to get out.  It was not till summer 1947 that I was able to get out.