Historical documents on Ho Chi Minh Trail on display

ABO/VNA – An exhibition on the legendary Ho Chi Minh Trail, also known as the Truong Son Trail, opened in the southern province of Binh Phuoc on May 16.

Visitors listen to the introduction of objects at the exhibition (Photo: VNA)

On display are more than 150 documents, maps and images, which were formed throughout the operation of the logistics route from the North to the South during the anti-American war. They are archives of the National Archives of Vietnam II, Vietnam News Agency and families of officers, soldiers, and witnesses involved in activities along the trail.

Nearly 100 artifacts once used on the route like bikes and ration stamps are also on show.     

As part of activities to mark the 129th birth anniversary of the late President Ho Chi Minh (May 19, 1890) and 60th anniversary of the founding of the trail (May 19, 1959), the exhibition was curated to demonstrate the trail’s formation and role, Binh Phuoc as its ending point, and the trail amid current integration and development.

On May 19, 1959, the Politburo and President Ho Chi Minh opened a strategic logistics route to assist the southern battlefield. A special military unit, later named Group 559, was established to build the route, which ran along the Truong Son mountain range through 20 provinces of the three Indochinese countries.

The Ho Chi Minh Trail was the main artery from northern Vietnam to battlefields in southern Vietnam, Laos and Cambodia. It has a total length of nearly 20,000km, plus a “secret” route 3,140km long and 1,400km of petrol pipeline.

The route played a decisive role in the victory over the US and for national liberation.

At present, the route still serves as an important road in the national construction and development cause in all aspects of culture, economy, society, security and defence.

Recently, the ending point of the war time trail – at Km No. 1200 in Chon Thanh town, Chon Thanh district of Binh Phuoc – was recognised as a special national relic.

(Source: VNA)