The white-haired veteran is, however, happiest when recalling the moment he witnessed the surrender of the last president of the US-backed Saigon regime on April 30, 1975.

"In the course of my long military career, I had once forced the surrender of a president. It is a historic event," Tung told AFP in an interview at his home in Saigon, which was formally renamed Ho Chi Minh City in 1976.

Although Tung was clad in a nondescript short-sleeved shirt and trousers for the interview, the previous day he donned full military regalia to greet a gathering of journalists invited from around the world by Hanoi's communist regime in advance of the April 30 commemorations.

"How could I forget that moment, when I was so happy to be informed that the president (of the former regime) and his cabinet were inside the Presidential Palace.

"I really thought the earlier he surrendered the less bloodshed there would be for both sides," said Tung, who uses a wheelchair now because of a spinal problem.

American forces began withdrawing their personnel by helicopter on April 29, 1975 from the roof of the US embassy in downtown Saigon even as communist forces launched their final assault on the city.

By 5 am on April 30, the Americans had moved out and the North Vietnamese forces began to enter the city. By midday US-backed president, army general Duong Van Minh capitulated.

Colonel Tung, then political commissar of Tank Brigade 203, was the first officer of the northern army to force Minh to announce his unconditional surrender, officially declaring the "Fall of Saigon" or "Liberation" as the unified country's rulers termed it.

"I was also the one that wrote the short script for Minh," Tung recalled, remarking that the outgoing president was quite cooperative.

"He was very nice, although I was very tough, refusing his proposal to transfer the power and forcing him to surrender unconditionally," Tung added.

Like many Vietnamese men of the same generation, Tung quit school and joined the army when he was only 17 years old in a bid to help liberate his country from foreign occupiers

"I was beaten by other French classmates and saw with my own eyes how the country was colonised. Therefore, I decided to join the army to fight the French invaders," he said.

The French withdrew from their colony in 1954, only to be replaced by Americans seeking to prop up the government of the southern half of the then divided country.

"I spent 43 years in the army, but now, if I could turn back the time, I would not change anything in my life," Tung said determinedly, strictly following the communist party line.

"My ideal has always been to live and work for a peaceful and independent Vietnam as well as a good life for the people, so if the enemies came to the country I would still fight," he asserted.

One of his fondest memories is of an ingenious scheme to hide dozens of tanks in a village in the southern province of Quang Binh.

He decided to park them in what looked like flimsy cowsheds from the air. But the structures were not only used to house the tanks but also the crew and additional troops in underground shelters.

The tanks stayed hidden during daytime and were used for military drills by night. The ruse successfully lasted three years from 1967 till 1969 when the troops advanced southwards.

"The most exposed and the most dangerous place turned out to be the safest," he said chuckling contentedly at the memory of his feat.

Today, he says, he is just content to lead a simple life since retiring in

Vietnam has kicked off celebrations marking its victory thirty years ago and he, like several other veterans chosen by the authorities, is at the center of a lot of attention.

But the image he wants to give of himself is that of a simple man.

"Every month, I receive two million dong (125 dollars) of pension, sometimes earning more by writing articles," Tung said.

"I'm proud of my life."

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