Man, son brought back from jungle after fleeing Vietnam War bombs

www.thanhniennews.com Thursday, August 08, 2013 03:20:00

 

Authorities in the central province of Quang Ngai Wednesday rescued a father and son who have been living up a tree house in the jungle for more than 40 years.

It took many hours and around 40 kilometers through the jungle for the officials to reach the men’s place, which had been found by some of their family members.

The father, Ho Van Thanh, 82, was too weak to walk and some men had to carry him out of the jungle on a hammock.

First investigations found Thanh had fled into the jungle bringing his son Ho Van Loan, then around one year old, during a panicking night in 1971 in the Vietnam War, when his house was bombed, killing his wife and two older sons.

They lived in a house that looks like a bird nest, built from sticks on a big tree around six meters from the ground, and near a stream.

They used dry bark to make pants, though officials found Thanh has carefully kept a little red coat of his son and his soldier’s trousers at a corner of the house.

The two also made their own tools like knives, axes and arrows for hunting.

Daily foods include cassava, corn, and wild leaves. They have a field of nearly one hectare (2.47 acre) that also plants sugarcanes. 

Both have forgotten the mainstream Kinh language.

Ho Van Tri, Thanh’s youngest son who was newly born on the bombing day, found his father and brother more than 20 years ago but he could never persuade them to come home, according to a report by news website VnExpress.

Tri said some relative had saved him that day.

With an uncle’s help, he camed to find his father and brother in the jungle 12 years later.

He has been bringing them salt and oil every year but they have not accepted him yet.

He said many times he brought more people to help bring them home but they would hide quickly anytime they saw people.

Ho Minh Lam, Thanh’s nephew, said people have brought clothes and pots for him to use but he just kept them in a bag.

They kept a small fire in the house and smoked tobacco they planted themselves to keep warm on cold days.

Jungle men: Ho Van Lang, 42, right, emerges from the Vietnam forest 40 years on (Picture: EPA)

A father and son described as ‘jungle men’ have been discovered in a Vietnamese forest where they lived for 40 years.

Ho Van Thanh fled with his two-year-old son into the wilderness when two of his children and his mother were killed by a mine explosion in the Vietnam War.
They learned how to survive in complete isolation and lived on fruit, cassava and corn. Their only clothing was a loincloth made from tree bark.

Thanh’s son, Ho Van Lang, is now 42 and can only speak a little of the language used in the Kor community.

Another son, Ho Van Tri, was just six months old at the time of the blast and was left behind.

Ho Van Thanh fled with his two-year-old son into the wilderness during the Vietnam war (Picture: EPA)

He told The Australian newspaper: ‘My father doesn’t want to eat or even drink water. He’s very sad.

‘We know he wants to escape my house to go back to the forest.’

When nearby villagers spotted the duo, they contacted the Tra Phong Commune authority, which then began to investigate the 82-year-old father’s identity.

Officials found he had lived a quiet and normal life with his family in the Tra Kem hamlet, south of Da Nang.

But when the landmine left most of his loved ones dead, he retreated to the forest with his child in a state of shock.

Both men are now receiving a check-up from doctors, who hope to re-integrate them into society.