Ho Chi Minh, The Backbone for North Vietnam

Ho Chi Minh was a very important character in the Vietnam war. Not only was he apart of the war against America and South Vietnam, but he was in the original protests and battles with the French.

Ho was born in 1890, in Hoang Tru Village where he spent the first five years of his life. He spent most of his childhood in Kil Lien Village, living with his parents, brother, and sister. Ho's was given the name, Nguyen Tat Thanh, when he turned ten according to his Confucian traditions. His father was a Confucian scholar and Ho was sure to be brought up with Confucian based education. Ho was also educated at a French-style secondary school.

In 1911, Ho left his home and boarded a ship headed for Marseilles, France. He worked on this ship as a cabin-boy, spending long hours working many jobs around the ship. After arriving at France, he spent most of his free time reading at the public libraries, reading newspapers or listening to conversations about politics and current events. He later moved to England in 1913 through 1917, but then he returned to France until 1923. During his second stay at France, Ho began to pay special attention to the ideas of Communism. He was determined to free Vietnam from French rule so that he could establish a Communist government, but he could not find any country to support him. He became involved in the establishment of the French Communist Party and then moved to Moscow. He did not stay in Moscow for very long but soon moved to Guangzhou, China. While he was in China, he established the Communist Party of Indochina.

Ho returned to Vietnam in 1941, and it was at this time that he adopted the name, Ho Chi Minh. He helped organize rebellions against the Japanese government when they invaded during World War II, but mainly against the French government. He named himself the leader of the new Democratic Republic of Vietnam, forcing the emperor, Boa Dai, out of command. Ho signed a document that allowed his government to be apart of the French Union, but he was incessantly fighting against them. Even after he controlled North Vietnam, he was not satisfied and fought against South Vietnam and America to control all of Vietnam. He was known for his continual fight for his dreams, even when his dreams seemed impossible to achieve.

Ho died on September 2, 1969, on various health problems. He died at the age of 79 and his embalmed body was put on display in a granite tomb in Moscow. He is still idolized by Communist Vietnamese citizens referring to him as "Uncle Ho."