Professor London says the general was in the hospital for three or four years, and that his death was expected.

“In the meantime, I think Vietnam’s own political culture has changed a lot in a very short period of time. And so while the general himself just a few years ago was an individual of great interest among those struggling for political reforms, institutional reforms, in Vietnam by the time of his death just recently, the country had in respect moved on.”

For those who fled to the United States after the war, the reactions to the general’s death are very different from those in Vietnam’s capital.

Duy Hoang is a spokesman for the group Viet Tan, which is banned in Vietnam. He disputes the idea that General Giap caused the American fighting forces to leave Vietnam.

He says it is important to recognize the general’s part in the independence movement against the French. I’m Bob Doughty.

Cell Transport System Research Wins Nobel for Medicine

Three researchers based in the United States have won the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine. James Rothman, Randy Schekman and Thomas Sudhof studied how cells organize and move the molecules necessary for them to operate.

Tom Kirchhausen is a cell biologist with Harvard University in Massachusetts. He was asked to explain the work of the Nobel Prize winners. He suggests that we think of every cell in our bodies as a tiny city.