Forever the qualities of Uncle Ho's soldiers

Leaving the battlefield to return to his hometown, war invalid Duong Ba Viet in La Doi village, Hop Tien commune (Nam Sach) actively participated in many local movements.

Carrying wounds and illnesses from the battlefield, the wounded and sick soldiers of Hai Duong still wholeheartedly dedicate themselves to their homeland.

Steady hand on gun

In July, memories of a time of fire and bullets on the battlefield came flooding back, making wounded soldier Duong Ba Viet in La Doi village, Hop Tien commune (Nam Sach) feel nostalgic. He tearfully recounted the fierce battle in hamlet 25, My Loc village, Tam Quan Bac commune, Hoai Nhon district (now Tam Quan Bac ward, Hoai Nhon ward), Binh Dinh province on August 12, 1972. Here, he and his comrades fought steadfastly to protect every inch of his father's land. That was also the day he was seriously injured and thought he would not survive. "Luckily, I was saved by a mother from Binh Dinh. That fall, because I was seriously injured in the arm and had shrapnel lodged in my head, I could no longer participate in the battle, and I will forever have an 81% disability," said Mr. Viet.

The oath “To die for the Fatherland” was always remembered by Mr. Viet. He did not regret his decision to “Put down his pen and go to war” when he was in 9th grade in Nam Sach, preparing to take the excellent student exam in the whole North. Even when he was injured, he still asked the doctors to reduce his disability so that he could continue to fight.

War invalid Bui Van Nha in Quang Trung ward (Hai Duong city) said that his injuries were nothing compared to the sacrifices and losses of many soldiers who had to stay on the battlefield. In August 1971, Mr. Nha volunteered to go to the battlefield in Binh Long province (now Binh Phuoc province) when he was only 17 years old. As a scout in the spearhead squad of the reconnaissance company, Regiment 3, Division 9 of the Southeast region, Mr. Nha had to bear the responsibility for the safety of his comrades behind him, so he always worked carefully. One night in December 1973, while scouting to prepare for a fierce battle, he was shot twice in the arm by the enemy but still fought with his comrades to the end. After that, due to heavy blood loss and a broken arm, he was forced to return to the infantry post and transferred to the rear for treatment. Because the wound in his arm was so severe, doctors had to take cartilage from his rib to reattach his arm. "The sacrifice of my comrades and the oath of a party member admitted right on the battlefield helped me strengthen my will to fight to the end," said Mr. Nha.

Hai Duong currently has nearly 22,000 war invalids and more than 10,000 sick soldiers, many of whom have a disability rate of 81% or more. After the war, returning to their homeland, the war invalids and sick soldiers always uphold the spirit of Uncle Ho's soldiers, taking the lead and being exemplary in work as well as in life.

Mr. Dao Huy Son, a war invalid from O Xuyen village, Co Bi commune (Binh Giang) actively does business.

Be a role model, take the lead

Returning to his hometown, when malaria from the battlefield still often tormented him on windy and rainy days, war invalid Dao Huy Son in O Xuyen village, Co Bi commune (Binh Giang) still actively participated in local activities.

For more than 20 years as Village Chief and then Party Cell Secretary, Mr. Son has helped O Xuyen village change in many aspects. Mr. Pham Phu Cach, a cultural and social officer of Co Bi commune, said that despite his poor health due to illness on the battlefield, when he returned to his hometown, Mr. Son always promoted the spirit of Uncle Ho's soldiers, set an example, and took the lead in many local movements. When Co Bi built a new rural area, Mr. Son and his wife were willing to mortgage the family's "red book" to borrow money from the bank in advance so that the village could build inter-hamlet and intra-field roads, ignoring the criticism of "eating at home but carrying the prison and the village".

This is also one of the first four villages in Binh Giang district to be recognized as a cultural village. Mr. Son said: “Keeping the oath to our comrades that if we return alive, we will devote ourselves to our homeland, we are determined to maintain the spirit and will of soldiers even in peacetime.”

In La Doi village, Hop Tien commune (Nam Sach), war invalid Duong Ba Viet is a prestigious person in the locality. When working for the Youth Union, he was awarded the "Heroic Youth Protecting the Fatherland" Medal by the Ho Chi Minh Communist Youth Union. When holding the important position of Party Secretary of the commune, he helped the locality solve many outstanding problems that caused disunity among the people, advising on building policies to help the locality develop its socio-economy. In 1993, when he retired, Mr. Viet devoted his efforts to economic development, taking over low-lying, abandoned fields from the locality to build farms, raise fish, and educate his children. In 2012, Mr. Viet opened a plastic and scrap recycling workshop, creating jobs for children of many families with preferential policies, demobilized soldiers, and people with disabilities. His family set an example by donating hundreds of square meters of land to build new rural roads in the locality. He also encouraged his children to be exemplary in work and life to be in the ranks of the Party. Mr. Viet's family currently has 5 party members, his parents are also revolutionary veterans.

Deputy Director of the Department of Labor, War Invalids and Social Affairs Pham Thi Thu Hien commented that returning to their homeland, thousands of war invalids and sick soldiers of Hai Duong are always the pioneers in local movements, a shining example for today's generation to learn from and follow.

BAO ANH