27. Historical relic of Vo Thi Sau Memorial House

Historical relic of Memorial House of Heroic Martyr Vo Thi Sau is located in Tuong Thanh quarter, Dat Do town, Dat Do district, Ba Ria – Vung Tau province.

The Memorial House of Heroic Martyr Vo Thi Sau is one of 08 former houses in the “Village Street” block, built nearly 90 years ago by An Phu Thuong General Office with public funds for renting to the residents. In 1939, Vo Thi Sau was 06 years old, Mr. Vo Van Hoi (1896-July 27, 1971) and Mrs. Nguyen Thi Dau (1898-June 25, 1973), who gave birth to Heroic Martyr Vo Thi Sau, rented this house to live and establish a business. This is the place to mark the childhood memories and the early days of the revolutionary activities of Heroic Martyr Vo Thi Sau in her hometown of Dat Do.

The relic is the fourth in a row of 8 houses in the village street, in front of which is the former Dat Do market; the house was built according to simple traditional techniques,with cross beams and rafters without carvings, silk walls made of panels assembled into panels, on top of each piece are attached straight bars, and the roof is covered with yin and yang tiles.

Vo Van Hoi worked as a horse-drawn carriage driver, and the mother sold vermicelli noodles and spring rolls at Dat Do market. The couple gave birth to 06 children (2 boys and 4 girls). Vo Thi Sau is the sixth child. Sau and her youngest sister Vo Thi Bay, who was born in 1934, stayed at home to help their family, helped their father by getting up early to feed the horses and then helped him saddle the horses to Dat Do market to transport passengers to Long Dien or Phuoc Hai, then turned to help their mother do business at Dat Do market. At that time, Sau’s family was difficult and miserable, but with a hard-working heart, Sau worked day and night to help her family overcome difficulties.

In 1946, the resistance war against the French of Ba Ria people began; Sau followed her fifth brother, Vo Van Me, into the resistance war and was educated, taught and instructed by her uncles to become the liaison of Dat Do Volunteer Public Security Team. In 1947, Ms. Vo Thi Sau officially became a volunteer security officer of Dat Do; with her agile and aggressive youth, Sau successfully completed the assigned tasks. Memories of the childhood and adolescence of Heroic Martyr Vo Thi Sau are attached to this memorial house. In 1948, Mr. Vo Van Hoi – the father of Heroic Martyr Vo Thi Sau took the whole family to the war zone in Cau Trong, Xuyen Moc district to avoid the repression and oppression of our people by France at that time.

From 1948 to early 1980, this house changed owners many times; to commemorate the great contributions of Sau, and at the same time to traditionally educate future generations about the heroic example of Heroic Martyr Vo Thi Sau, in 1980, the People’s Committee of Long Dat district had a policy to buy the house to protect and build the Memorial House of Heroic Martyr Vo Thi Sau.

In early 1982, when it was approved by the People’s Committee of Dong Nai province, the People’s Committee of Long Dat district directed the District Office of Culture and Sports to coordinate with the Museum of Dong Nai province to restore the original state of the relic and prepare documents to request recognition as a historical relic of the Memorial House of Heroic Martyr Vo Thi Sau. On January 27, 1986, the Minister of Culture and Information issued Decision No. 15/QD-BVH recognizing the historical relic of the Memorial House of Heroic Martyr Vo Thi Sau; on March 17, 1995, the Minister of Culture and Information issued Decision No. 199-VH/QD recognizing it as a national relic.

After many years of putting into use, preserving and serving the people to visit, up to now, the  Memorial House has been degraded. In early 2014, with permission from the Department of Culture, Sports and Tourism, Dat Do District restored and expanded the Memorial House of Heroic Martyr Vo Thi Sau to create a surrounding landscape and planted many trees to create a cool space with a total area of about 1,500m², with a capital of VND 10 billion from the district budget, including 04 houses:

• First house: Reception room and display of gifts and artifacts for visitors.
• Second house: The place where Sau lived with her childhood family is now the ancestral worship room of Heroic Martyr Vo Thi Sau; the house was restored to its original status.
• Third house: place to worship Heroic Martyr Vo Thi Sau.
• Fourth house: Display some damaged wooden planks from the old house that are still kept to commemorate and introduce to visitors.

Currently, the grave of Heroic Martyr Vo Thi Sau remains intact in Hang Duong Con Dao. Every year, on January 23 (Solar calendar), the Party Committee and people of Con Dao district hold a death anniversary ceremony in Con Dao; on the 27th day of the 12th lunar month, the Party Committee and people of Dat Do district held a death anniversary ceremony for Heroic Martyr Vo Thi Sau at this Memorial House.