Probably the most significant battle of the 20th century…
Fight of Their Lives
Nguyen Ba To remembers the 56-day siege of dien bien phu: the hardiness of his fellow soldiers, artillery shells that exploded so close he could barely breathe, a buddy who died. Last week, the 73-year-old veteran returned to the site of the battle that led to France’s withdrawal from Vietnam. “It’s changed a lot,” he said, scanning a parking lot jammed with motorbikes near a carefully preserved French bunker.
In a celebration that was simultaneously reverent and self serving, the ruling Communist Party commemorated the 50th anniversary of the French surrender with fireworks and dance performances. Military mastermind General Vo Nguyen Giap, 92, though shouldered out of the Party’s inner circle in the 1980s, was back in the public eye, attending functions in Hanoi and Dien Bien Phu. The regime even delivered some true eloquence. “In the Vietnamese tradition,” said Deputy Prime Minister Pham Gia Khiem, “when you take a sip of water, you should remember the origin of the stream. The present generation has to remember those who made sacrifices on their behalf.”
—By Phil Zabriskie/Dien Bien Phu