(VOVWORLD) - Associate Professor Nguyen Kim Nu Hieu, former Deputy Director of Central Military Hospital 108, was among the individuals honored by the 2025 National Patriotic Emulation Movement. Despite her age, People’s Doctor Hieu continues to exhibit remarkable enthusiasm and dedication. Throughout her career, from the hardships of wartime battlefields to the challenges of peacetime development, she has been a devoted physician, tirelessly engaged in charitable work, and helping disadvantaged people build a better life.
 Associate Professor Nguyen Kim Nu Hieu, former Deputy Director of Central Military Hospital 108 (Photo: Bao Lam/hanoimoi.vn) |
Now 80, Colonel Hieu hardly misses a single public health counseling session at Central Military Hospital 108.
In May 1965, driven by a burning desire to serve her country, young medical student Nguyen Kim Nu Hieu volunteered for military service with 100 of her peers from Hanoi Medical University. Throughout the brutal war years she devoted herself to caring for wounded soldiers. Bombs and hardships only strengthened her willpower, her compassion, and her resilience as a military doctor.
In January 1972, pregnant with her first child with her husband Professor Nguyen Lan Dung, a fellow scientist, Hieu received orders to depart for the Quang Tri battlefield. The young doctor went to the front, fearful for her unborn child but filled with a deep love for her country.
 Ms. Hieu treats wounded soldiers on the battlefield. (Photo courtesy of Nguyen Kim Nu Hieu). |
“I wanted to go to the battlefield because I wanted to gain real experience rather than stay behind where life was easier. My husband and I decided to go together, no matter how hard it might prove to be,” Ms. Hieu said.
After the war, Doctor Hieu continued her service to military medicine, working in Infectious Diseases, Senior Officers’ Healthcare, and Pediatrics, eventually reaching the position of Deputy Director of Central Military Hospital 108. In each role, she was disciplined, meticulous, and scientific.
“At any age, we must keep learning to stay current. Even in retirement, as a doctor, I feel the need to continue studying so I can remain useful,” said Ms. Hieu.
In 2003, Associate Professor Hieu retired. But for her, retirement did not mean stopping. She believed that as long as she still had the strength, she must continue to contribute. “Despite my age, I must keep trying. I want to inspire others to do good, as well. That way, when I can no longer do it myself, kindness will continue to spread.”
For more than 20 years, Associate Professor Hieu has actively participated in social organizations, including the Veterans Association and the Association for Victims of Agent Orange/Dioxin. She and her friends founded the group “Women Intellectuals – Friends for Friends”, which has become an effective charitable organization that brings comfort and support to victims of Agent Orange and helps poor women in border regions escape poverty.
 Ms. Nguyen Kim Nu Hieu and a member of the group “Women Intellectuals – Friends for Friends” present an economic development model to support residents in Son La province. (Photo courtesy of Nguyen Kim Nu Hieu) |
Their projects “Raising Breeding Goats” in Long Sap, “Growing Shan Tuyet Tea”, and “Raising Wild Boars” in the upland commune of Chieng Khua have yielded remarkable results and helped many families improve their lives.
Mrs. Nguyen Thi Yen Hung, Deputy Head of the “Women Intellectuals – Friends for Friends” group, said, “Dr. Hieu is a great inspiration. She has attracted many people, particularly young scientists, to join our efforts. Once a young battlefield soldier, today she still embodies the soldier’s spirit – brave, disciplined, and full of compassion.”
Colonel Hieu’s contributions have been honored with numerous prestigious awards: the First-Class Feat of Arms Order, the Third-Class Resistance Order, the First-Class Fatherland Defense Order, the Second and Third-Class Glorious Soldier Order, medals “For the Young Generation,” “For Science and Technology,” “For the Liberation of Women,” and the Determined to Win Military Flag. She also received the Commemorative Medal for Soldiers protecting Quang Tri Citadel in 1972.