The over 7,660-km trip of Mr. Son "Justice"

 Thirteen years ago, veteran Tran Ngoc Son in village 4, Vu Quy commune, Kien Xuong district, Thai Binh province was affectionately called "Mr. Son, justice". He was the one who made the cycling journey across Vietnam (from January 5 to July 30, 2010) to almost all provinces in the country to campaign for signatures for the fight for justice for Vietnamese victims of Agent Orange.

Now, Son is 70 years old but he’s still agile and open. While flipping through the pages of the diary of his journey across Vietnam thirteen years ago, he recounted. Before realizing his intention to cycle across Vietnam to 63 provinces and cities nationwide, he spent many months preparing; saved some of his expenses from disability allowance, fixed his bicycles, brought along tattoo patches, a bicycle pump, an old backpack containing a few sets of clothes and some essential items.

He went to the Thai Binh Provincial Association to present his idea to Senior Colonel - Hero of the People's Armed Forces Nguyen Duc Hanh, President of the Provincial Association and received enthusiastic support. His wife and children were worried at first because they wondered whether or not he would be able to cycle thousands of miles across the terrains for months at the age of 56. But in the end, after convincing his wife and children, Son succeeded in fulfilling his wish for the cause of AO victims throughout the country.

When asked about who covered for his daily expenses and the entire journey, Son expressed honestly: "I did not ask for any support from agencies, organizations or individuals. I did it all by myself.” Only Lien Thang Service Store  in village 3, Vu Quy commune, Kien Xuong district knew this and gave me a raincoat." With just a simple bicycle, his own budget and the encouragement from his family and teammates, Son finished an extraordinary journey that only he could do.

In his journey diary, Son wrote: From January 25, 2010, I cycled to Hung Yen province, then to Hanoi, with a total of 150 km of road. I spent two days in Hanoi resting and working with some agencies. Then I travelled to Bac Ninh, Bac Giang, Lang Son provinces before circling to Quang Ninh province. In the next phase,  I cycled to Cao Bang and Bac Kan provinces. The trip to Bac Kan was the most difficult one. My bike broke down, I had a fever, I had to put my bike in a car and go back to Thai Binh for a week of treatment. With my health got better, I continued my journey to the Central and Southern provinces…

On April 28, 2010, Doctor Doan Van Tong, Head of the Southern Representative Office of the Vietnam Red Cross in Ho Chi Minh City, wrote in Son’s journey that: "The Vietnam Red Cross highly praises the volunteer spirit of Mr. Tran Ngoc Son, member of the Thai Binh Association for Victims of Agent Orange/Dioxin in mobilizing the community to support the fight for justice for Vietnamese victims of Agent Orange"...

At 2:00 p.m. on April 28, 2010, I arrived at the headquarters of the Ho Chi Minh City Association for victims of Agent Orange/Dioxin and met journalist Dao Van Su who is working at the representative office of the People's Army Newspaper. Su wrote an article praising the spirit of a war invalids cycling across Vietnam to campaign for justice for Vietnamese AO victims. In May 2010, I cycled to Southwestern provinces such as Vinh Long, Tra Vinh, Can Tho, Soc Trang, Bac Lieu, Ca Mau, Kien Giang, An Giang, Dong Thap and then returned to Hau Giang and Can Tho. From May 20, I traveled to the Central Highlands provinces. Wherever I expressed my idea, I received encouragement and enthusiastic support for AO victims.

The thing I remember most is that at 10:00 a.m. on July 28, 2010, when cycling to Tao Tinh village, Toa Tinh commune, Tuan Giao district, Dien Bien province, I met a young man struggling with his flat-tire bicycle. I stopped and helped him with five patches I brought along. After that, the young man hugged me and cried, "Thank you very much. Without your help I don't know what to do with this broken bicycle. You deserve to be Uncle Ho's soldiers for us to follow.  I wish you a safe and successful journey "...

There are many words of admiration for Son during his trip across Vietnam throughout 63 provinces and cities nationwide to voluntarily campaign for signatures to fight for justice for Vietnamese AO victims. In total, in 6 consecutive months cycling across Vietnam through 63 provinces and cities nationwide, Son traveled over 7,660 km, reaching 390 agencies, units, and families, raising a sum of 20,950,6209 Dong and nearly 21 million signatures of officials, people, veterans to support the fight for justice for Vietnamese AO victims.

Now, reading his trip diary with his wife, Son is proud that he has realized his wishes and work for his comrades and for victims of Agent Orange. For him, the experience of traveling across the country to understand more about the painful losses of soldiers returning from the war infected with Agent Orange, to get over 20 million signatures to contribute to the fight for justice for Vietnamese AO victims was an extraordinary and meaningful one.

At the end of this article, I would like to cite the comments of Nguyen Thi Thu, in Thuong Ha, Ban Yen, Lao Cai province for Son: "Today, July 16, 2010, I met a beloved   veteran Tran Ngoc Son cycling in the sun. We were extremely impressed. Normally we only see foreigners cycling in the highland provinces, today we saw Son cycling to seek justice for veterans infected with Agent Orange. I'm so lucky to meet you. I was extremely impressed when I saw the drops of sweat on your forehead. I wish you good health to continue your journey to seek justice and help the victims of Agent Orange, including many veterans in Lao Cai, my hometown. I love Uncle Son very much!”.

That was the journey 12 years ago. The wounded veteran Tran Ngoc Son spent 6 months cycling across Vietnam to 63 provinces and cities nationwide to fulfill his wish of "voluntarily campaigning for the fight for justice for Vietnamese AO victims". It was so admirable!

Nguyen Cong Liem