General Vo Nguyen Giap's work room at the D67 House. (Photo: Chi Nguyen/NDO) 

 

The General released important decisions at the house during the resistance war against US imperialism to save the country. It is also a particularly meaningful destination for educating revolutionary tradition and nurturing patriotism and national pride among younger generations.

 

In 1967, D67 House was built as a working place for the General Staff and the Central Military Commission to ensure the confidentiality and safety of meetings of the Party and Army leaders during the days when the American imperialists were bombarding the north. The over 600m2 building appears like an ordinary one-story roofed house nesting under green trees, but its details highlight special military structural elements.

 

The house has a three-layer roof and a 15cm thick ceiling. Its foundations, walls and roof were made of monolithic reinforced concrete. The largest room (76m2) is in the middle of the house and was the meeting room of the Politburo and the Central Military Commission, next to the break room. In the east of the house, a small room was used for General Giap to work. From D67 House, there are two stairs connecting directly to the D67 Tunnel which was also called the Central Military Commission Tunnel. It was designed solidly with many layers of doors to withstand attacks by heavy bombs.

 

Many artifacts in General Vo Nguyen Giap’s working room have been preserved and displayed to their original state. The desks, small beds and the books changing their colours have helped visitors learn more about the noble and simple lifestyle of the eldest Brother of the Vietnam People's Army.

 

At D67 House, when he served as the Secretary of the Central Military Commission, Minister of National Defence and Commander-in-Chief of the Vietnam People's Army under the leadership of the Politburo, General Vo Nguyen Giap worked with generals of the Vietnam People’s Army to make strategic decisions and important directions during the resistance war against the US imperialism, including the General Offensive and Uprising in the 1968 Mau Than Lunar New Year (1968 Tet) and the “Dien Bien Phu on air” Campaign that defeated the US airstrike in Hanoi in 1972. Also here, during the most urgent hours in the spring of 1975 when Vietnam’s battlefield was likely to make a rapid turn, General Vo Nguyen Giap issued a secret order that read “quicker, even quicker, daring, and even more daring…” on April 7, 1975, to pave the way for the historic Ho Chi Minh Campaign towards southern liberation and national reunification.

 

Over a half century later, the D67 House has become an extremely important revolutionary relic site that has attracted a large number of people from in the country and abroad to visit, research and study. Amid complicated development of COVID-19 pandemic, the capital city has been applying social distancing. Therefore, in order to continue to preserve and promote the values of D67 House, the Thang Long - Hanoi Heritage Conservation Centre has developed a virtual tour to D67 House and Tunnel, aiming to take advantage of technology to help visitors access to the relic site conveniently.

 

With smart phones and computers connected to the internet, visitors can learn about the details of D67 House through a 360-degree photo application, along with a specific and scientific instruction and explanation system.

 

To mark the occasion of the 110th birthday anniversary of General Vo Nguyen Giap (August 25, 1911-2021), the Thang Long - Hanoi Heritage Conservation Centre has organised an online exhibition entitled ‘General Vo Nguyen Giap – The legendary general’ at https://trungbayonline.hoangthanhthanglong.vn/. The display includes 200 photos and documents highlighting General Giap’s imprints and role at the Vietnam People's Army’s General Headquarters (D67 House and Tunnel) between 1968 and 1975.

 

Thanks to the exhibition, viewers will not only gain a deeper understanding of the great contributions made by General Giap to the cause of national independence, but will also get more clear feelings for the image of a firm and loyal revolutionary soldier and an excellent and close student of President Ho Chi Minh. Moreover, the exhibits will help viewers, especially younger generations, bring the valuable historic values preserved at the D67 relic site to life.

 

Chi Trang