No doubt one of the key people who will be profiled on “The
Vietnam War” series beginning tomorrow is Ho Chi Minh. Ho, who became familiar to millions of
Americans during the 1960s, had an interesting career. When I taught Asian
history to undergraduates, I would surprise them with two interesting facts
about his life.
First, he was a baker in Boston before World War I. He worked at the old and fabled Parker House
Hotel in Boston. Last year I visited the reconstituted hotel and got a sense of his work there. The hotel has a gallery of
photos of him. And, it is reputed that
the table he worked out actually survives. He also worked as a chef in London,
even training with the great Auguste Escoffier.
Second, during the peace conference at Versailles, where all
the great dignitaries of the world gathered, Ho, then twenty-nine, was
advocating against French colonialism in Indochina. He got nowhere and afterward became
radicalized. The history of
twentieth-century Vietnam became inextricably linked to Ho Chi Minh.
“Ho Chi Minh: A Life,” an excellent book on this multi-faced
man who became a staunch foe of the United States, was written by William
Duiker in 2001.
This image of a young Ho Chi Minh is taken from the photo
gallery at the Omni Park House, Boston.
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