Disabled but not useless

My cousin called me to advise my uncle - a war invalid with a disability rate of 61% - not to go to Hanoi to visit General Secretary Nguyen Phu Trong. Because his health is not good and it is not easy to visit the General Secretary. After listening to my analysis, my uncle agreed with his children and grandchildren to stay home and watch the funeral and memorial service of the General Secretary on live television. He also reminded us to arrange our work so that a few weeks later we could take him to burn incense at the General Secretary's grave. He did not forget to remind me to remember the General Secretary's saying: "What is the use of having a lot of money? You can't take it with you when you die. Honor is the most sacred thing."

My uncle's respect and grief for the General Secretary moved my sisters and I. My sister said that when she heard the news of the General Secretary's passing, my uncle was stunned, speechless, tears streaming down his shriveled face. When there was information on Facebook that Lam Anh bus company in Ninh Giang was coordinating with some bus companies to arrange 3 cars with 100 seats to transport people who wanted to go to Hanoi to pay their respects to the General Secretary for free, my uncle and 4 veterans immediately registered. However, the bus company announced that they could not organize 3 free trips due to some objective reasons, so my uncle's group planned to rent a private car to go to Hanoi.

My uncle was wounded in the Quang Tri battlefield. After returning to his hometown, although he was injured and sick, every time the weather changed, he felt pain and fatigue, but he still tried to work hard with his wife in farming to raise his children to be successful. He told himself that he had to live a meaningful life, to live for his fallen comrades, and not be a burden to his family and society. His children and grandchildren are all obedient, respectful, kind, and successful. Therefore, in the past few days, without anyone urging them, voluntarily, his children and grandchildren changed their profile pictures on their Facebook and Zalo pages to black and white to express their grief at the passing of the General Secretary.

Indeed, that wounded soldier has promoted the qualities of “Uncle Ho’s Soldier”, set an example, lived a meaningful life, was not ashamed of his comrades, and had ways of teaching his children and grandchildren that made others admire him. I believe that many wounded soldiers in Hai Duong also live, work, and educate their children and grandchildren like my uncle.

By June 2024, Hai Duong had 22,684 war invalids and people enjoying policies like war invalids, and 10,473 sick soldiers. The war has been over for decades, but its after-effects still exist in the bodies of those war invalids and sick soldiers, tormenting them every day. However, most of them still strive and persevere in life to prove one thing: war invalids are "disabled but not useless".

Many wounded and sick soldiers shared that being able to return and live to this day is a great fortune. Only by going through life and death, and experiencing the hardships of war, can one know how precious life is. Therefore, all the difficulties in daily life do not discourage them. The soldiers of the past not only overcame difficulties to develop the economy, enrich their families, and educate their children to live useful lives, but also helped and encouraged each other to rise up, actively participate in social work, foster revolutionary ideals, arouse national pride, raise the sense of responsibility of young people to their homeland and country, and beautify the image of Uncle Ho's soldiers. They are shining examples of strong will, perseverance, and noble ideals in both wartime and peacetime for the younger generation to follow.

Understanding the pain, deprivation and contributions to the country of war invalids and sick soldiers, imbued with the tradition of "Repaying gratitude", over the years, the Party committees, authorities and people of Hai Duong have always respected, shown gratitude, paid special attention and taken practical care of them.

However, somewhere, some war invalids and sick soldiers have distorted thoughts, thinking that they have special privileges and that no one can touch them. Therefore, they freely run red lights, sell goods on the street, violate traffic laws, use the name of war invalids to collect debts, file lawsuits, and put pressure on event organizers to get tickets and have priority to participate in events...

This year we celebrate the 77th anniversary of War Invalids and Martyrs Day (July 27, 1947 - July 27, 2024), which is also the 68th anniversary of implementing President Ho Chi Minh's teaching: "War invalids are disabled but not useless", with sincere respect and deep gratitude for the contributions and noble sacrifices of war invalids, sick soldiers, and families of policy beneficiaries... This is also an opportunity for former soldiers to reflect on themselves, correct themselves, set an example, and not assist bad people in doing things that affect society and the community.