vietnamese child soldiers

Perhaps no other leaders in the history of Vietnam had ever loved children the way that Ho Chi Minh loves his children. At the Start of the Vietnamese Communist revolution in Vietnam, Ho Chi Minh has shown a keen interest in the indoctrination and education of Vietnamese children. Ho Chi Minh teachings and collected works became the basis for the indoctrination of children in the Socialist Republic of Vietnam.

In his letter to the children during the Autumn Festival of 1951, Ho Chi Minh shown his love for children with the following poem:[1].

In his letter to the children during the Autumn Festival of 1951, Ho Chi Minh shown his love for children with the following poem:
“The autumn moon shine as bright as a mirror
Uncle Ho thinks of children as the Uncle gaze at the moon"

Ho Chi Minh states:
"Of course the adults have to fight to save the country
But children will also have to shoulder part of the responsibility
Once the Japs, the French has been expelled
The children will be pampered"

In his poem"Trẻ chăn trâu" [ The water buffalo herding children ] Ho Chi Minh call on his children to contribute to the war:

"Together we fight to expels the Japs,the French
One day we will be honor
Children Salvation* is the club
A group of saviors
An integral part of the Vietminh*
Our people have to save one another
Is there anyone who is not touch ?
Pity the herds-children of Vietnam"

During the 8th meeting of the Vietnamese Communist Politburo on May 1941, Ho ordered Ðức Thanh Nhiệm to create various children combat groups such as the Ðoàn Thanh niên Cứu quốc Hà Quảng [The Youth Salvation Group of Ha Quang], Hội Nhi đồng Cứu quốc [The Children Salvation Club]. The membership of these groups consists of children from age 10 to 16 but in many case children as young as eight was “encourage” to join these organizations. [3].

Ho Chi Minh's Children Guerrilla Group of Đình Bảng

While The Children Salvation Club might sound like the bourgeois “Mickey Mouse Club” or the Boy Scouts, Hội Nhi Đồng Cứu quốc [The Children Salvation Club] does not sing saccharine sweet songs and do silly things like the Capitalist children clubs. Instead, the Socialist children of Vietnam under the tutelage of Ho Chi Minh were trained on useful skills such as how to dig up mines with their bare hands, how to shoot weapons, how to plant and detonate bombs, how to build and place booby traps, how gather intelligent on the enemies and other “progressive” skills.

A 12-Year-Old ARVN Airborne mascot, despite scrutiny from the international press, no evidence exists that the ARVN uses child soldiers. However, there is ample evidence that Uncle Ho and the Vietnamese Communist Party systematically uses children as tools of war.

The history books and children books of the Socialist Republic of Viet Nam are full of stories of children taught to hate, murder and and mostly dying for Ho Chi Minh such as eight years old Lê Vãn Tám who pour gasoline on himself and and set himself on fire to destroy a French armory. Dương Văn Nội, one of the first Communist "child heroes" and the first Communist "decease child hero" to be awarded the prestigious Huân Chương Chiến Công Hạng Hai medal. In the battle of Hanoi in 1946, thousands of children were mustered into combat groups to resist the French. During the early days of the war against the French, almost all the battles against the French were fought with the participation of various children combat groups, especially the daring ambush operations against the French forces [4].








Ho's Children Guerrilla Group



During the war to "liberate" the South Vietnamese from the freedom, liberty and democracy that they enjoyed living under the Republic of Viet Nam, Ho Chi Minh did not hesitate to send ten of thousands of Thanh Nien Xung Phong [Assault Youth] and Du kích Thiếu Nhi [ Children Guerrilla Group ] to combat his enemy. While children living under the Republic of Viet Nam control area was "force" to go to school to learn boring and headache inducing things such as reading, writing, math, and science. The progressive children under Ho Chi Minh was taught fun and useful things such as how to murder people, how to steal weapons from the Americans, how to dig up mines with their bare hands. These great skills will no doubt prepared the children of Ho Chi Minh for a great and exciting career as hit men, gangsters, drug dealers, serial killers and other profitable careers in the future. As such, these great combat deeds are described glowingly in the book “Lịch sử Đội Thiếu niên Tiền phong Hồ Chí Minh” [History of the Ho Chi Minh Pioneer Children Group”]:

Most particular are the activities of the children and young children who lived near the “Kill Yankee Belt” near large Yankee installation such as the installation at Binh Đức, Mỹ Tho province, Trảng Lớn installation at Tây Ninh province, Bến Cát installation at Thủ Dầu Một, Chu Lai installation at Quảng Nam province, Nước Mặn installation at Quảng Đà province, Aí Tử and the electronic wall at Quảng Trị province. In these areas, children often commit daring deeds such as working as reconnaissance for local cadres and combat units.”

Vietcong's children working as conscript civilian porters carrying war materials and supplies





Let us read about the glorious Children Guerrilla Group of Điện Bàn:
“In just one district, district Điện Bàn of the Quảng Nam province, the Children Guerrilla Group of that district has captured 12 rifles during the August month of 1968... At Củ Chi, during April, 1969 the children had captured 23 rifles and 1 machine gun. When the children could not captured or steal weapons from the enemies, they would try to destroy the enemies' weapons.

On March, 1968 four young children while tending their cows, noticed that the Yankee has lots of weapons and ammunition in their outpost, the children tried to steal the weapons but could not since the Yankee security was tight, they could not do it. The children formulate a plan where they would buy a pack of cigarettes and when the Yankees is in deep slumber during their afternoon nap, the children lit the whole pack of cigarettes, sneak into the Yankee armory, throw the lighted cigarettes at the ammunition under the plastic canopy. The hot weather combines with the lighted pack of cigarettes caused the ammunition to explode killing 7 Yankees and destroying the Yankee ammunition.”


Aside from stealing weapons and digging American mines with their bare hands, the children were taught by Ho Chi Minh and the Vietnamese Communist Party the fine arts of hate, killing and maiming:

Vietcong's Children Guerrilla Group setting up booby traps

“Not a small number of Southern children [South Vietnamese children living in the Communist control area] has taken up arms and perform combat duties in various Children Guerrilla Group and regular units of the Liberation Forces. Children fought in various battles and campaigns and have achieved outstanding victories. On April 6, 1964, little Hồ Thăng, a minority child who was only 14 years of age, together with his Children Guerrilla Group has shot down a Yankee plan and captured alive Yankee pilot Tom Poen. Hồ Thăng was given the Nation Liberation Front of South Vietnam's Huân chương Chiến công giải phóng medal. Hồ Thăng fought many battles with his Children Guerrilla Group and courageously sacrificing himself by falling in battle.






Vietcong's Children Guerrilla Group












In 1967, little Rít shot down one Yankee fighter jet. Also during 1967, little Hoài of the Bác ái district (Ninh Thuận province), although he was only 11 years old, he wanted to quit school and follow the Guerrilla Group to kill the enemies. However, because of his small statute, the little boy could not handle a weapon, since he was smaller than his riffle. However, when the Yankee planes attack his Guerrilla base, little Hoài who was hiding in the trenches, utilizes his combat training to shoot down one plane during the attack.


Vietcong's Children Guerrilla Group on patrol


The achievement of shooting down the most Yankee planes using rifles by Southern children [Children in the Communist control area of South Vietnam] was held by little Khung of the Tơla (KonTum province). Khung was one of the youngest among the “warriors who destroy planes”. Although he was only twelves years old, Khung established a remarkable record of shooting down Yankee planes. In 1968, during two continuous days of combat, Khung using his K44 rifle shot down one helicopter, one propeller-driven plane and 1 fighter jet. Little Xi of Quảng Ngãi province with his CKC rifle shot down one L19, 1 Yankee helicopter... The achievement of shooting down Yankee planes by Southern Children [ Children in the Communist control area of South Vietnam] is impossible to fathom[5].”

Naturally, only children of the proletariat, the poor and those without party connections has the honor of dying and being maimed for Ho Chi Minh and the Vietnamese Communist Party. The children of the party elites, the “red” ruling class was often sent to study in Eastern block countries, so they don't have the opportunities to die young like children from the lower class.

Vietcong's ethnic minority Children Guerrilla Group on their way to the battlefield

Over three decades have passed since the Vietnam War, with ample de-classified information from all the participants, we can clearly see who was right and who was evil. On the one side, we have Ho Chi Minh and his Party, teaching children to hate, to kill, to extract mines and bombs with their bare hands while children in the Republic of Vietnam controlled area were taught how to read, white, taught about math, science, literature. On the one side, Ho Chi Minh and his party murdered 500,000 rich and middle class people, stole their properties, gave some of the properties to the poor and tax the poor to death so that the new “land owners” have to donate their new land to the co-operatives[6]. On the other hand, South Vietnamese president Diem and Thieu used foreign aids and selling bonds to purchased lands from the rich and middle class and gave the land away for free to poor peasants as well as lowering taxes for the poor. Given these examples, which government is the true government of the proletariat ? Which government is truly evil ? I'll give you a hint, it's evil to use children as young as eight years of age as tools of war.
























The gravestone of Private Lê Trung Tương born in 1959, drafted into the Vietcong on April 1968 at the age of nine, sacrificed [killed in action] on May 1, 1971 at the age of
twelve

* Hội Nhi Đồng Cứu quốc = The Children Salvation Group
* Việt Minh = Abbreviated from the Việt Nam Ðộc Lập Ðồng Minh Hội [League for the Independence of Vietnam] was a liberation movement founded in South China on May 19, 141.

[1] Những bức thư của Bác Hồ gửi các cháu thiếu nhi nhân ngày 1-6, http://www.dongnai.gov.vn/cong-dan/tin_vanhoa-xahoi/sen200605307/view
[2] Mai Bửu Minh, Bác Hồ với thiếu nhi Việt Nam. http://www.baohaugiang.com.vn/detailvn.aspx?item=4058 (May 30, 2008).
[3] Đào Ngọc Dung , Lịch sử Đội Thiếu niên Tiền phong Hồ Chí Minh và phong trào thiếu nhi Việt Nam (Hà Nội : Nhà xuất bản Thanh Niên ,2004), pp. 47-49.
[4] Ibid, pp. 137, 170.
[5] Ibid, pp. 422-431.
[6] Bùi Tín, “ Nhìn lại cuộc Cải cách ruộng đất: Những bài học còn nóng hổi” November, 11 2006.