Forever young: In her wedding then, the young bride Nguyễn Thị Ngọc Toản only had forest flowers; today, she held a bouquet of the freshest flowers of Điện Biên. Photo courtesy of Madam Toản's family

ĐIỆN BIÊN Doctor Nguyễn thị Ngọc Toản returns to Điện Biên Phủ on a special trip to celebrate her 95th birthday today.

Seated in De Castries' bunker, Madam Toản, an obstetrician-gynaecologist, fits right in with her military outfit.

"Great-grandmother Toản was ambushed in Điện Biên," writes her daughter Cao Bảo Vân, as hordes of cameramen and journalists would not let the moment go to waste. She couldn't have a quiet moment to herself in De Castries' bunker, but she made the trip, 70 years later.

Currently living in Hồ Chí Minh City with her daughter's family, she was accompanied by children and grandchildren back to the old battlefield of Điện Biên Phủ, where she, then was a nurse for the campaign, had her wedding with General Cao Văn Khánh on the battlefield, newly peaceful after the Việt Minh captured the valley.

The young bride then went on to study to become an obstetrician and worked in Hà Nội's Military Hospital 108 until she retired.

Until death do us part: Nguyễn Thị Ngọc Toản and her husband General Cao Văn Khánh in 1955, one year after their wedding in Điên Biên. Photo courtesy of the family

During Dr. Toản's long career as an obstetrician-gynaecologist working at Military Hospital 108 in Hà Nội, she encountered many children born disfigured due to the impact of Agent Orange. She also found out that her husband General Cao Văn Khánh and her son had died from impacts of Agent Orange.

Moment of remembrance: Madam Ngọc Toản celebrates her 95 years young with her children in Điên Biên Phủ. Photo courtesy of the family

Daughter of a Cabinet Minister in the Royal Court in Huế, born Tôn Nữ Ngọc Toản, she left the comforts of an elite aristocratic family to join the revolution and fight against the French invasion of Việt Nam. She traded privilege for hardship, entitled life for the work for her people, and she has lived a long and meaningful life.

We respectfully wish her good health and to live to 100 years old. VNS