North Vietnam Political Leaders (Communist)

Communist Party- Ho Chi Minh and General Nguyen Vo Giap

Perspective: You are leading your people to victory! Your goal is sovereignty for your
people and you want to unify North and South Vietnam under any means necessary.

Born in 1890 in Vietnam under French colonialism to a committed nationalist father, Ho

Chi Minh would grow up to lead not one, but two successful wars of independence to
liberate his country. In his formative years, Ho traveled widely as a sailor and lived in
Paris, Harlem, and Boston. In his travels, he made contact with other colonized people,
communists and nationalists, and saw the Vietnamese under France as part of an
international system of empire.
During this time, while Ho Chi Minh was demonized in the United States, he continued to
push the United States to respect Vietnam's sovereignty. He passed away in 1969 at the
age of 79, not living to see the eventual Vietnamese victory in 1975.
General Giap is considered one of the greatest military strategists of the 20th century.

Letter:
PRESIDENT HO CHI MINH'S REPLY TO PRESIDENT JOHNSON'S LETTER
February 15, 1967
Excellency, on February 10, 1967, I received your message. Here is my response.
Viet-Nam is situated thousands of miles from the United States. The Vietnamese people have
never done any harm to the United States. But, contrary to the commitments made by its
representative at the Geneva Conference of 1954, the United States Government has
constantly intervened in Viet-Nam, it has launched and intensified the war of aggression in
South Viet-Nam for the purpose of prolonging the division of Viet-Nam and of transforming
South Viet-Nam into an American neo-colony and an American military base. For more than two
years now, the American Government, with its military aviation and its navy, has been waging
war against the Democratic Republic of Viet-Nam, an independent and sovereign country.

Quotes:
Everything depends on the Americans. If they want to make war for 20 years then we shall
make war for 20 years. If they want to make peace, we shall make peace and invite them to tea
afterwards."
- North Vietnamese leader Ho Chi Minh, December 1966

Any forces that would impose their will on other nations will certainly face defeat.- General Giap

Our resistance will be long and painful, but whatever the sacrifices, however long the struggle,
we shall fight to the end, until Vietnam is fully independent and reunified.
-Ho Chi Minh, statement, December 19, 1946