Hanoi (AFP)

Their task is of the utmost importance in Vietnam: carefully guarded soldiers guard day and night the mausoleum that contains the embalmed body of the revolutionary leader Ho Chi Minh, who died 50 years ago on Monday.

Watching over the founding father of the nation is the ultimate patriotic act for those men in immaculate white stiff uniforms, stationed in and around the Ho Chi Minh Shrine, an imposing monolithic building located in Hanoi.

Protecting "uncle Ho", a leading figure in Vietnamese history, is a "waking dream" for Lieutenant-Colonel Nguyen Xuan Thang: "We must keep our eyes constantly on everything around us, to prevent any eventuality ", says the 41-year-old soldier to AFP.

Throughout the year, it performs up to four guard towers of two hours a day, often outdoors, under a blistering summer heat, under heavy monsoon rains, or in freezing winter cold.

Sometimes he is assigned to the holy of holies, near the embalmed body of the leader, long thin beard still intact, in a dark and cool room, where thousands of schoolchildren, tourists or veterans come every day tribute.

The remains of Ho Chi Minh are never left alone, even after the closure of the soldiers remain close to her, 24 hours a day.

"For us who see him daily, the emotion remains overflowing," says the chosen soldier, like the others, for his athletic health, his communist ideas and his advantageous physique.

A team of scientists, four Russian and seven Vietnamese, came this year to assess the state of embalming, on the eve of the fiftieth anniversary of the death of the former leader on 2 September.

"The body of President Ho Chi Minh has been kept in very good conditions," said General Cao Dinh Kiem, one of the leaders of the mausoleum, opened in 1975.

- Call the Russians -

According to some rumors, the exposed body is not the real one, or the body is sent every year to Russia for maintenance.

"In short, it's not true," General Kiem denies with a smile.

But the call for Russian expertise is not new. Just after the death of Ho Chi Minh in 1969, and against his will, his close associates asked the Soviet ally how they had done to preserve the body of their own founding father, Vladimir Lenin, whose embalmed body is found still today on the Red Square in Moscow.

Vietnam had then reached an agreement with the USSR providing the country with the equipment to carry out the embalming and supervision of its experts.

With the fall of the USSR in 1991, Vietnam had the greatest difficulty to find an agreement - commercial this time - with Russia.

This agreement still in place is considered a secret state, can not be shared with either North Korea or China, two communist allies who have also preserved their leaders for posterity.

"As for (sharing) pharmaceutical techniques, it's an absolute no," insists General Kiem.

Ho Chi Minh had provided specific instructions for his funeral: a cremation, and ashes scattered in the privacy, in the north, in the center, and in the south of Vietnam, as a sign of unity.

"No tombstone or bronze statue," but a simple ceramic urn between three tree-planted hills, he wrote in his will.

- "Ho for all" -

This did not prevent his successors, to capitalize on his popularity, to build him a huge tomb, inspired by both the mausoleum of Lenin, the pyramids of Egypt and Washington Monument in the US capital.

"Uncle Ho", the affectionate nickname that the country has given him, remains a powerful symbol for today's communist leaders. His teachings are present in textbooks, in patriotic songs and propaganda. They are also part of military and political formations.

"The Communist Party needs Ho Chi Minh and uses it on all occasions, there is a Ho for all: children, mothers, cadres, officials and soldiers," says Christopher Goscha, author of "Vietnam , at New History ".

But for the youngest - half of the population is under 30 - the founding father belongs to history. Eyes glued to their smartphone, their daily life is marked by a prosperous capitalism, a thirst for freedom, and the omnipresence of social networks.

"The competition is tough, Ho Chi Minh, it talks to them less and less," the researcher told AFP.

For the devoted soldiers of the mausoleum, on the contrary, he remains in the center of their attention. Lieutenant-Colonel Thang and his team carefully prepared the wreath laying ceremony held on Friday, and are waiting for the big day crowd for the anniversary on Monday, which is also National Day.

"We prepared our soldiers spiritually and physically to greet visitors in the best way and pay our respects to the president," he concludes.

© 2019 AFP