Page 349 - Xuan Giap Thin 2024 FINAL 2

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Bản dịch: Chinh Nguyên.

In the autumn of '68, I left Da Lat with many problems. The two battles of Mau Than

have made all the landscapes look shabby. Dalat is no longer a peaceful place. Although
the war came slowly but still fiercely, it surprised the people of Da Lat because they had

never prepared for war. Now, I left Da Lat to go into actual battle. I transferred back to
Bao Loc.

In August 1968, Holding the order in hand, seated a friend's car followed Highway 20
down Bao Loc. My friend's car lost two flat front wheels on a terrible road from Tung

Nghia to Blao, about 60 kilometers long. Since only one tire reserve existed, we had to

take the bus to the designated point and bring two flat tires. The obstacles on my way to
inauguration in the early days dogged me along the way. I temporarily stayed home with

my friend Tuong, an insurance agent in Bao Loc town. Mr. & Mrs. Tường are elderly but

have no children, and now own an exclusive office selling auto insurance. At that time,
in Vietnam, especially in this remote place, people only bought car insurance, not other

types such as home, life, etc. My grandparents received me as a longtime intimate. he
reserved a private room upstairs for me to stay in. In my room, there was a color picture

of a long-bearded, high-fore-headed old man who Mr. Tuong said it was a picture of his

grandfather. It wasn't until later, when I went to prison, that I heard it was a picture of
Ho Chi Minh. As it turned out, it was no different from the images placed on the altars

in the prison that I had the opportunity to live through. Mr. and Mrs. Tuong were local
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