VHM_0061
This comb was made by Vũ Huy Thâm in 1979 while he was imprisoned at the Gia Trung reeducation camp in Pleiku. Thâm crafted the comb from the wreckage of a South Vietnam Air Force plane that had been shot down in the surrounding forests during the Vietnam War. After shaping and polishing the metal, he asked a fellow inmate to engrave the intertwined initials “T” and “H” to represent himself and his wife, Lê Thị Nguyệt Hồng. He also had his wife's name, Hồng, engraved on the opposite side of the comb. Towards the end of 1979, Vũ Huy Thâm’s family traveled from Cần Thơ to Pleiku to visit him at the Gia Trung reeducation camp, at which time the comb was secretly given to them.
Object donated to the Vietnamese Heritage Museum by Vũ Huy Thám
Timeline
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Comb Origin
1979This comb was crafted by Vũ Huy Thâm while imprisoned at the Gia Trung "re-education" camp in Pleiku.
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Comb smuggled through Pleiku
1979The comb was secretly given to Vũ Huy Thâm’s family during their visit to the Gia Trung "re-education" camp in Pleiku.
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Comb donated to Vietnamese Heritage Museum
April 19, 2025Donated to the Vietnamese Heritage Museum.