On 15th September I left London for Hanoi to officially open, on behalf of a friend Thai Dang, the ten-bedded medical centre that he, along with a Norwegian friend Peter D. Gram, had built in his village Cu Khe, Ha Tay province.
The opening ceremony took place on 24th September in brilliant sunshine in front of an audience from the village and special guests that included Mrs Dat Thanh Huong. Vice-Chairwoman of Hanoi Union of Friendship Organisations (HAUFO). Prof. Dr Tran Duc Phan. Director Agent Orange Fund for Vietnam Red Cross. Another old friend Mr Lam Bao. Former Minister Counsellor at the Embassy in London.
Following the speeches and the handing of the centre’s keys to Doctor Nguyen Huu Thuc came the cutting of the ribbon and the planting of the tree in the grounds of the centre. The Centre was the second project of Thai Dang’s Nam Long Foundation, the first being a nursery school that we visited before the opening ceremony of the Medical Centre.
The military used Agent Orange to clear the surrounding areas of the American and allied military bases in South Vietnam and the foliage by the roadsides. Later it was used to destroy forests to expose the Vietnamese forces opposed to the Americans and their allies. It was also used to destroy the crops that the U.S. felt would be useful to the forces opposing them.
