Remembrance Red Valley Flower belonging to Viet Cong Soldier Thao Pham.
The Red Valley Flower, or poppy, is a symbol of wartime remembrance and graces the top of this Vietnamese mourning awards plaque for three medals and ribbon bars of fallen Viet Cong (VC) soldier Thao Pham, called Nhuong by his family. His awards included the Liberation War Exploits Order and Soldier of Liberation Orders 2nd & 3rd Class and are displayed on this plaque in his memory. They all display the NLF flag and are all inscribed CHIEN-CONG GIAI-PHONG (Armed Achievements Liberation). The Viet Cong awarded these medals, orders and decorations and the Hanoi Government has accepted them as official.

The Red Valley Flower is above the plaque bearing the Liberation War Exploits Order and Soldier of Liberation Orders 2nd & 3rd Class. His medals and ribbon bars are pinned to a white pad, white being the mourning color in Viet Nam, which in is affixed to a small red cloth covered cardboard shield shaped plaque.

This Red Valley Flower or poppy is part of an extraordinary grouping of VC flags, decorations, memorabilia and soldier personal items acquired in Vietnam by Mr. Jean Phillipe Martinet from Viet Cong veteran Dao Van Duc. The grouping contained many of the ephemeral personal items a VC soldier would have for use in the field.

Mr. Martinet acquired these medals while he was employed by the venerable French water company Lyonnaise des Eaux which specializes in water services and sanitation for local communities and industry in France and former French possessions. From 1989 to 1998 Mr. Martinet traveled often in the Ty Ninh area, and befriended the Viet Cong veteran Dao Van Duc and his family from Trai Bi, between Tay Ninh and the Cambodian Border.

It is not known where Dao Van Duc served while he was with the VC; but during the Vietnam War Ty Ninh was the site of large semi-permanent U.S. hospital, the 45th Surgical Hospital. The 45th was a Medical Unit Self-Contained Transportable (MUST) unit, established in 1966 the hospital was the site of numerous VC mortar and rocket attacks throughout its existence.

After the war Dao Van Duc became a municipal official of the city council of Cu Chi, a suburb of Hồ Ch Minh City and the nexus of the Viet Cong's Cu Chi tunnel complex, which was a major base of operations from which the Viet Cong participated in the Tet Offensive in January & February 1968.