Meritorious Teacher Nguyen Tien Ha ambled through the Hoa Lo Prison Relic's yard. At 96 years old, he had trouble walking. However, the celebrating atmosphere enabled him to return to this place to meet his comrades and recall the days of his youth when he actively participated in revolutionary activities in the Hoang Dieu National Salvation Youth Union (Hoang Dieu was the secret name of Hanoi at that time). Here, in Hoa Lo prison, he was still fighting, still waiting for the day when the revolution would succeed.

Patriotic young man

Born into a patriotic family in 1928, Nguyen Tien Ha - real name Nguyen Huu Tu - was awakened to the revolution.
His elder brother is Nguyen Huu Van, who was given the nom de guerre Ta Quang Chien by President Ho Chi Minh, one of his eight bodyguards named by the leader himself as Truong, Ky, Khang, Chien, Nhat, Dinh, Thang, Loi.

Meritorious teacher Nguyen Tien Ha has dedicated his life to the revolution and his career as an educator. Photo courtesy of Nguyen Tien Ha

He remembers that before the August Revolution in 1945, the country was in disarray and people's lives were miserable.
His memory is scarred by the images of sick and starving people lying on the streets and pavements.

He was driven by his love for his nation and his hatred of the enemy to take action to help liberate the nation.

With this determination, responding to the call of the country's leader Nguyen Ai Quoc (Ho Chi Minh) to "rise up and use our own strength to liberate ourselves", the young man Nguyen Huu Tu volunteered to join the Hoang Dieu National Salvation Youth Union.

"I was happy and excited to follow the ideal of my life at that time, partly because the revolution showed the way, partly because I believed in the leader Nguyen Ai Quoc," he added.

After graduating from high school, he was given a job as a teacher, tasked with promoting literacy and inspiring people to support the revolution.

Unforgettable National Day

August 17, 1945 became a sacred day for the Hoang Dieu National Salvation Youth Union as they gathered in front of the Hanoi Opera House to hold a mass rally to cheer on the revolution.

The audience applauded the Viet Minh Front as a large yellow star banner dominated the front of the stage. The rally, mounted by the Hoang Dieu National Salvation Youth Union, turned into a lively march and demonstration through many streets of Hanoi.

"Since we joined the revolution, we have been working mainly in the shadows. This was the first time in my life that I participated in a public parade with the people. The atmosphere was as boisterous as a river bursting its banks. Wherever we went, we shouted 'Long live independent Vietnam'. Before, we were citizens of an enslaved country, now we are free, we are proud and happy," he said.

Early in the morning of August 19, 1945, tens of thousands of peasants and poor people from all over the country gathered in front of the Hanoi Opera House carrying revolutionary flags.

At exactly 11 o'clock, on the stage in front of the Hanoi Opera House, the Uprising Committee read out the call for an uprising and introduced the Provisional Revolutionary Committee of Hanoi. The rally then turned into an armed demonstration to seize the key offices of the puppet government.

Tu and the groups of people split off in different directions to occupy the Tonkin Palace, the City Hall, the Secret Service, the Post Office, and the Security Guard Camp.

By the evening of August 19, 1945, the revolutionary forces had seized the key offices of the puppet government in Hanoi. The Viet Minh were in complete control of the city. The insurrection was completely victorious.

On September 2, 1945, in the historic Ba Dinh Square, President Ho Chi Minh, on behalf of the Provisional Government, solemnly read the Declaration of Independence in front of nearly one million people.

Ha led a group of young people from Bach Mai to Ba Dinh Square. More people joined them along the way. Thousands of people began to merge into a sea of people, and the whole nation erupted in boundless joy.

"At that time, I stood from afar and looked at the Independence Monument, my heart filled with emotions of both joy and pride," he recalled.

The failed escape

On the night of September 22-23, 1945, the French colonialists, backed by British troops, seized the headquarters of the revolutionary government in Saigon and began a war to reoccupy Vietnam. Tu joined the resistance against the French invaders under the name of Professor Tran Huu Thoa, who taught English, French, and mathematics.

"Through teaching, I and other comrades fostered patriotism in many people and mobilized our students to join the resistance. From here, I officially took the name Nguyen Tien Ha, which means 'will march to Hanoi,' as an oath," he said.

In 1950, he was detained by the enemy and taken to the Secret Service (now the Hanoi City Police Headquarters at 87 Tran Hung Dao).

Ha was brutally tortured by the enemy, but he never said a word. He tried to dig a wall to break out of the prison with some other friends in the secret service compound.

They studied the layout of the prison, both inside and out, and memorized the rules of the guards' and secret agents' patrols.

Ha sent a secret letter to the Military Front Command in the city through the secret communication line, requesting that someone bring them to the base if they escaped to a suburban commune. The plan was accepted.

He and his companions set to work immediately, digging nonstop for four or five nights to finish the job. On the scheduled day, Ha completed the final stage of breaking through the wall, creating a hole large enough for a person to crawl through. He was the first to stick his head out, carrying a tiny blanket.

Nguyen Tien Ha is imprisoned and tortured in Hoa Lo Prison. Archive photo

I threw the blanket over the electrified barbed-wire fence, jumped onto the barrel that had been placed against the wall like a spring, and climbed through. I leaped over the second wall and ran down Lien Tri Alley as if I had incredible strength," Ha said.

The foursome managed to escape, but on the way back to the base they were recaptured by the enemy. Even after being tortured more severely this time to force him to denounce his comrades, the devout communist soldier remained silent.

"They hung me from the rafters and gave me an electric shock, then pushed me into a tank of water, but we were determined not to surrender," Ha recalled.

After his near-fatal beating, Ha was transferred to Hoa Lo Prison. Here, with the support and medication of his comrades, his health began to recover. After being elected to the party committee by his fellow inmates, he was appointed party secretary of the prison. He continued the struggle inside the jail, where he set up classes in politics, culture, and foreign languages.

At the end of 1952, the enemy released Ha when they could not convict him. Immediately after leaving prison, he changed his name to Professor Tran Huu Thoa to continue his revolutionary activities related to education. Before retiring, he was a senior expert at the Ministry of Education and was awarded the title of "Meritorious Teacher" by the State.