70th Anniversary of the Geneva Accords and the Gathering Train

On the evening of September 1, the television program to celebrate the 70th anniversary of the Geneva Agreement and the Assemblage Train (1954-2024) took place at three locations: the Memorial Site of the Unnumbered Train, Brigade 125 - Naval Region 2 (Cat Lai Ward, Thu Duc City, Ho Chi Minh City), the National Historical Site of the 1954 Assemblage Site to the North in Cao Lanh (Ward 6, Cao Lanh City, Dong Thap Province) and the Memorial Site of Southern compatriots and soldiers who assembled to the North in 1954 in Sam Son City (Thanh Hoa).

The program was organized by Ho Chi Minh City Television in coordination with Dong Thap and Thanh Hoa Radio and Television Stations, and broadcast live on the Radio and Television Stations of the three localities.

Attending at the Ho Chi Minh City bridge were Politburo member, Secretary of the Ho Chi Minh City Party Committee Nguyen Van Nen; leaders of the City Party Committee, City People's Committee; historical witnesses and a large number of people from all walks of life in the city. At the Dong Thap province bridge, there were leaders, former leaders of the Central and Dong Thap province; revolutionary veterans; Heroic Vietnamese Mothers; cadres and children of cadres, soldiers, and people from the South who gathered in the North in 1954. At the Thanh Hoa province bridge, there were provincial leaders, departments, branches, sectors, provincial-level organizations and leaders of districts, towns, and cities; Heroic Vietnamese Mothers, and a large number of people.

With the theme “Belief and Aspiration,” the program consists of three chapters: Going with glory, staying with courage; Heavy love and deep affection; and Continuing journey. Through staged performances, precious documentary films and sharing from historical witnesses, the television bridge brings a unique art program; affirming the importance of the Geneva Agreement in the struggle for national liberation and reunification.

In Dong Thap, Ms. Vo Hoang Lan recounted her memories of the train to the North in 1954. Ms. Lan said that in the past, she and Mr. Tran Thanh Minh both got off the train at Cao Lanh and went to Sam Son (Thanh Hoa province) to gather in the North. They met and got married in the North. Today, attending the television program to celebrate the 70th anniversary of the Geneva Agreement and the train, memories of that train came flooding back.

The program aims to review the heroic fighting tradition of the nation, demonstrate the tradition of "When drinking water, remember its source", and show deep gratitude to the cadres, soldiers, and students of the South in the past who did not hesitate to sacrifice and endure hardships to go to the North to study, work, build the socialist North, and prepare all-round forces to liberate the South and unify the country.

Through that, we educate the nation's glorious revolutionary tradition, show gratitude for the sacrifices of previous generations for independence, and foster revolutionary ideals for today's and tomorrow's young generations.

In 1954, President Ho Chi Minh and the Party Central Committee made a strategic decision to send a number of children of cadres, soldiers, and compatriots from the South to the North to continue studying in order to train cadres for the Party's long-term revolutionary cause.

Although 70 years have passed, the event of assembling and moving troops to the North in 1954 still retains its historical value, as a lesson in the spirit of national solidarity and the determination of our army and people for the noble revolutionary cause.

With the great scale of the event, the television program Celebrating the 70th Anniversary of the Geneva Agreement and the Gathering Train (1954-2024) depicts an overall picture of the peak migration of cadres, soldiers and children from the South to the North to study and work.

In addition, the scene of 100 days of gathering is realistically and completely recreated, imbued with the love between the army and the people; the people of the North opened their arms to welcome and protect the excellent children of the South.

On July 21, 1954, the Geneva Agreement on the cessation of hostilities in Vietnam was signed. According to the Geneva Agreement, the South had three areas for the assembly and transfer of troops of the Vietnam People's Army: Ham Tan-Xuyen Moc (80 days); Cao Lanh, Dong Thap Muoi (100 days) and Ca Mau Cape (200 days).

With the spirit of "Going gloriously, staying bravely", Cao Lanh town, Long Chau Sa province (now Cao Lanh city, Dong Thap province) welcomed and saw off more than 13,500 cadres, soldiers and children from the South boarding ships to gather in the North.

Those who left were determined to build a strong North and consolidate a solid citadel for the Southern revolution. Those who stayed kept their oath of loyalty and determination to fight for the cause of liberating the South and unifying the country. The location of the 1954 Northward Assembly in Cao Lanh was ranked as a National Historical Site by the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism.

At Lach Hoi Port, Quang Tien Ward, Sam Son City, the first place in the North to welcome Southern compatriots and soldiers to the North, 70 years ago, hundreds of thousands of Southerners from the 17th parallel south gathered and transferred troops in many areas, including localities in the Southeast and Southwest such as Xuyen Moc-Ba Ria, Cao Lanh-Dong Thap, Song Doc-Ca Mau... boarded ships to leave their homeland, leaving behind their loved ones and the image of their villages and fields.