My father, this hero. General NGUYEN HUY ANH was an example of nobility, bravery, moral integrity for the South Vietnamese air force and, taken away at the age of 39, remains today a legend in the heart of veterans of this cruel war. Here is his story... and to relate it, I chose to borrow the voices of those close to him.
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At the very beginning of his youth, the first chapter, here is my mother's voice:
- Southern Viet Nam, in the Mekong Delta, Can Tho.
Our country is under the French colonization since, what seems to me, always... anyway, since I was born. At 15, I am rebellious and fiercely chauvinistic.
My mother divorced our Vietnamese father to marry a "high nose", as we call the French. His blue eyes have always cast on my sister and me a disdainful and cold look, which reinforces my animosity for these strangers coming from elsewhere, behaving like Masters wherever they go.
my mother, me, my brother in law and the new french husband of my mother
Revolted and animated by a male energy, quite far from what a young Vietnamese girl should be, meaning sweet and discreet, I am quite the opposite: Bellicose and reckless, I am a disaster for any marriage matchmaker, hopefully for me.
So I am allowed to take my time and "ripen" some more years, hopping that time would bring the required qualities for me to be a good spouse : Thus, my adolescence was very free. In secret, I adhere to a revolutionary anti-colonialist movement, made up of a group of young people with utopian and nationalist ideas. That's how I started learning Kung Fu within this "rebel" group.
In this area of Viet Nam, the Wu Dang lineage has long since taken root, so it was through this discipline that I started my life as a martial arts practitioner.
Our teacher (Si Fu), having too many students, delegates the beginner's lessons to his disciple, whom we commonly call "Big Brother". So our big brother is named ANH, which means "light". Which is also my first name.
The first time I saw Big Brother Anh, something confused took life in my heart: A great admiration blend with a feeling of rivalry, a frightening and unknown attraction, an unconfessable tenderness. At 15, I fell in love without even knowing what it could mean.
Far from admitting it, I put this strange new feeling on the fact of my admiration for his martial talents.
This handsome young man of 20 is made of passion and flames, contained in a serious and reserved figure. He is extraordinarily skillful and incredibly swift ... In combat, he leaps like a tiger, jumps like a monkey, shirks like a snake and his eagle eyes miss no opportunity.
Watching his training was for me, as for the other students, a source of wonder and it's open-mouthed that we admire him in free combat with Si Fu. His favorite style was the Kung Fu of the drunken man ... which often made us laugh out loud and flourishes our youth, which was flowing along with the Mekong's yellow water.
drunken man kung fu, source blog asiantown
One day on my 17, a contest was launched: Anyone who could touch the face of Big Brother Anh would be the new disciple of Si Fu. Free fight, free style.
Not intimidated, I signed in.
Realizing that my two poor years of practice did not weigh much against such an experienced opponent, I had to be cunning. Our training place was actually a big outdoor sand court.
We were ten to challenge and being the least experienced and the youngest, I was listed last. The former candidates failed to succeed the challenge, Big Brother Anh was far too fast and agile to let anyone touch his face. On the contrary, every each student found himself on the floor, unable to move under an arm or leg key. My turn arrived, greeted with a few giggles of laughter.
Big Brother Anh stared at me condescendingly, which made me grind my teeth ... He stood two meters away from me, not even in defense stance, just with his hands crossed behind his back, relax. This overly arrogant attitude insulted me and it was frowning that I rushed towards him, jabbing my fist towards his belly and, at the last minute, I squatted completely to finally give him a sweeping kick down, aiming at the ankles ...
My punch was only a lure. But can't teach the old monkey to grimace and he was waiting for my kick, not surprised at all. He had only to leap in the air with a rotational movement and let himself land behind me. He gave me a little tap on the skull, smiling mockingly.
It was there that I waited for him: me, crouching cross-legged on the ground with him, standing just behind. It was not difficult to grab a handful of sand discreetly... I turned face swiveling on my legs which throw me like a spiral spring and like a jack out of his box, I stand all my height to finish my movement studied from the beginning: throw the sand in his eyes. Surprised and blinded, he did not have the time to see my incoming hand: Paff! slap on the left cheek!
source sand hand 1zoome
A burst of applause came to rejoice this victory of mine and it is at this precise moment, seeing Big Brother Anh holding his cheek sheepishly that I realized that I was madly in love. I quickly went to fetch some rainwater to wash his eyes ... the blushed glance he gave me was full of surprise, amusement and ... tenderness. This is how our story began.
me, at 17
To be followed.....