Rad Kivette: When an American Chose Vietnam as His Life’s Mission
	Article 3: Valuable Lessons

Also attending the meeting were Secretary of the Party Central Committee and Acting Minister of Foreign Affairs Le Hoai Trung; President of the Viet Nam Union of Friendship Organizations Phan Anh Son; leaders of ministries, sectors, socio-political organizations, and mass associations assigned by the Party and the State; a number of Viet Nam Union of Friendship Organizations member organizations; together with more than 100 international delegates, including individuals and organizations who have made significant contributions to Vietnam’s struggle for national independence and reunification, as well as to the cause of national construction and defense.

Politburo Member, Secretary of the Party Central Committee, and President of the Central Committee of the Viet Nam Fatherland Front Do Van Chien (front row, sixth from right), at the meeting and tribute to international friends. (Photo: Dinh Hoa)

President Ho Chi Minh and Vietnam live forever in our hearts

At the event, international delegates expressed their deep affection for President Ho Chi Minh and the people of Vietnam; shared memories from their years of activity supporting the Vietnamese people in the two struggles for national independence, as well as in the defense, construction, and development of the country; and affirmed the profound significance of the August Revolution and National Day (September 2) to the global movement for national liberation, peace, and justice.

Nikolai Kolesnik, Chairman of the Russian Veterans’ Association. (Photo: Dinh Hoa)

Nikolai Kolesnik, Chairman of the Russian Veterans’ Association, recalled his own experience standing shoulder to shoulder with the Vietnamese army and people in Gia Son commune, Gia Vien district, former Ninh Binh province, where they shot down four enemy aircraft. He affirmed that the Russian people always share in humanity’s suffering and stand ready to assist and support nations that have endured great losses.

He recalled the milestone of 60 years since the first group of Soviet missile experts arrived in Vietnam, directly providing training in the midst of the flames of war. Their efforts contributed to the birth of the heroic Vietnamese Air Defense Missile Force, which went on to secure the decisive victory of December 1972.

According to him, Soviet assistance enabled Vietnam to stand firm and put an end to the era when the US air force “freely ruled the skies,” paving the way toward complete victory. “When we helped Vietnam resist the aerial war of destruction, we fulfilled our combat mission with the steadfast conviction that it was a noble and just cause. Thanks to Soviet support, Vietnam stood strong and triumphed - the war ended. By supporting Vietnam, we carried out a mission of peace and helped bring the war to an earlier conclusion,” he said.

Elisabeth Helfer Aubrac, goddaughter of President Ho Chi Minh, movingly recounted her family’s profound bond with Vietnam. She shared: “On August 15, 1946, when President Ho Chi Minh held me in his arms and accepted to be my godfather - a newborn daughter in the family of his friends Raymond and Lucie Aubrac - it was also the moment he bound our family to the extraordinary history of Vietnam. A history of courage, the yearning for freedom, and human dignity.”

According to Elisabeth Helfer Aubrac, in the summer of 1946, when President Ho Chi Minh traveled to Paris in search of a path to independence through peaceful negotiations, it was there that he met her father, Raymond Aubrac, a Commissioner of the Republic who had supported Indochinese workers in Marseille. From their shared ideals and personal integrity grew a friendship between President Ho Chi Minh and the Aubrac family, leading him to become a cherished guest in their suburban Paris home.

Elisabeth fondly recalled simple yet warm memories: Uncle Ho reading newspapers in the garden in the morning, receiving guests in the afternoon, and returning to Fontainebleau in the evening for meetings; the modest family meals of rice and vegetables; and his conversations with her grandmother about the life of farmers. “Every year, no matter how difficult the circumstances, he always found a way to send me some token of care and affection,” she said emotionally.

Elisabeth Helfer Aubrac presents Vietnam with a 78-rpm vinyl recording of two historic songs from the early 1950s. (Photo: Dinh Hoa)

She also recalled the last time her father met President Ho Chi Minh in 1967, during secret negotiations aimed at ending the bombing of the North. On that occasion, she presented her godfather with a stone egg, symbolizing a bright future for Vietnam. In return, he sent her a piece of silk for her wedding dress - a keepsake that she continues to treasure as an invaluable heirloom.

“My father and my beloved godfather are no longer with us. But our children and grandchildren remain closely connected with Vietnam,” she said, sharing stories of her husband, who spent more than 40 years teaching Vietnamese students in Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City, and of their family home in France, which has always opened its doors to Vietnamese students as if they were members of the family.

At the gathering, Elisabeth Aubrac expressed her wish to present Vietnam with a gift she had recently found in her father’s archive: a 78-rpm vinyl recording of two historic songs from the early 1950s - “Song in tribute to President Ho Chi Minh” and “Youth marching to the front.” “The record was very old, but some friends with expertise in sound engineering helped clean and re-record it so that I could quickly send it to you,” she shared.

Víctor Fidel Gaute López, Vice President of the Cuban Institute of Friendship with the Peoples (ICAP), affirmed that the victory of the August Revolution in 1945 not only gave birth to the Democratic Republic of Vietnam but also powerfully inspired national liberation movements across the world. According to him, the valuable lesson from that historic event lies in the strength of solidarity, wise leadership, and the ability to seize historical opportunities.

Víctor Fidel Gaute López, Vice President of the Cuban Institute of Friendship with the Peoples, delivers remarks at the gathering. (Photo: Dinh Hoa)

He emphasized: “We Cubans respond to the solidarity that Vietnam has extended to us with profound gratitude, respect, and admiration for your nation (…) President Ho Chi Minh lives forever in the hearts of the Cuban people through his career, his thought, and the ever-brighter history of his homeland.”

He noted that the establishment of the Department of Ho Chi Minh Studies at the University of Havana and at the Communist Party of Cuba’s University stands as vivid testimony to the special friendship between the two peoples. In 2025, as Vietnam and Cuba commemorate many historic milestones, the two countries have declared 2025 the “Vietnam-Cuba Year of Friendship,” further deepening the steadfast bonds between the two countries. He affirmed that ICAP will continue striving to strengthen the solidarity and friendship between the two Parties, two Governments, and peoples of the two nations.

An enduring friendship

Addressing the meeting, Politburo Member, Secretary of the Party Central Committee, and President of the Central Committee of the Viet Nam Fatherland Front Do Van Chien expressed profound gratitude to international friends who had supported and contributed to Vietnam’s struggle for national liberation and reunification, as well as to the cause of national construction and defense. He affirmed that throughout every stage of the revolution, the Party, the State, and the people of Vietnam have always cherished and been grateful for the deep affection and valuable support of international friends and peoples.

Politburo Member, Secretary of the Party Central Committee, and President of the Central Committee of the Viet Nam Fatherland Front Do Van Chien delivers remarks at the meeting. (Photo: Dinh Hoa)

Recalling the support of peoples around the world for Vietnam, President Do Van Chien emphasized that the goodwill and solidarity of people everywhere provided immense strength to the Vietnamese people. In particular, during the period of postwar reconstruction, international friends helped build many facilities, factories, schools, hospitals..., making positive contributions to Vietnam’s development. Among them were also those who had once been “on the other side of the front line,” but who overcame past divisions to contribute to reconciliation and the building of a new life together with the Vietnamese people.

He shared that Vietnam is striving to become a developing country with modern industry and upper-middle income by 2030, and a developed country with high income by 2045. The entire Party, the entire people, the entire army of Vietnam are making every effort to achieve three goals: safeguarding independence, sovereignty, self-reliance, and territorial integrity; ensuring rapid and sustainable socio-economic development to build a prosperous and strong nation; and constantly improving the material and spiritual life of the people. To reach these goals, the Party, the State, and the people of Vietnam hope to continue receiving even greater interest, support, and wholehearted, effective assistance from international friends across all fields.

Politburo Member, Secretary of the Party Central Committee, and President of the Central Committee of the Viet Nam Fatherland Front Do Van Chien presents the Friendship Order to three organizations and individuals: Alisher Rustamovich Mukhamedov, President of the Uzbekistan-Vietnam Friendship Association; Kathleen S. Magee, President and CEO of Operation Smile (USA); and Nanxi Shan Hospital (China). (Photo: Dinh Hoa)

Affirming that the history of Vietnam’s nation-building and defense is an immortal epic written with unyielding will, the great spirit of national unity, and the sacrifice of the entire people, President Do Van Chien invoked the verse: “Even if rivers dry and mountains erode, our friendship will endure forever,” underscoring the loyal and enduring bond with international friends.

President of the Viet Nam Union of Friendship Organizations Phan Anh Son stated that Vietnam’s people-to-people organizations will continue to promote and nurture solidarity between the Vietnamese people and the peoples of the world, which will remain an immense source of strength contributing to new achievements in this new era - the era of Vietnam’s rise.

President of the Viet Nam Union of Friendship Organizations Phan Anh Son delivers remarks at the meeting. (Photo: Dinh Hoa)

On this occasion, Politburo Member, Secretary of the Party Central Committee, and President of the Central Committee of the Viet Nam Fatherland Front Do Van Chien presented the Friendship Order and the Prime Minister’s Certificate of Merit to organizations and individuals, in recognition of the support and positive contributions of international friends to Vietnam.

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