Labor Hero Nguyen Dang Giap - From the battlefield to the marketplace
Hero of Labor, Colonel Nguyen Dang Giap always kept in mind that “Ngoc bat trac bat thanh khi” (a gem that is not polished will not shine). Therefore, throughout his life, he made tireless efforts, daring to face difficulties head-on - setting himself difficult problems to find ways to overcome them.
Le Xuan• August 29, 2025
Hero of Labor, Colonel Nguyen Dang Giap always kept in mind that “Ngoc bat trac bat thanh khi” (a gem that is not polished will not shine). Therefore, throughout his life, he has worked tirelessly, daring to face difficulties head-on - setting himself difficult problems to find ways to overcome them. “I take work, creativity and fighting for justice, for the poor as the direction of my life”, that is the ideal he pursues, and also the mission of a hero in peacetime life.
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Dong Chu village (now Dong Loc commune, Nghe An province), where the sand dunes are dry and silver, nature is not favorable, but this land has produced many talented people. At the end of the 19th century, Dong Chu village became one of the major educational centers of the country, training patriotic scholars, famous in history such as Dang Nguyen Can, Ngo Duc Ke, Phan Boi Chau, Nguyen Sinh Sac... The cultural and revolutionary traditions of that sacred land of talented people have forged the bravery, intelligence and humanity of Nguyen Dang Giap - a typical businessman of the country and his hometown of Nghe An.
The Western region of Nghe An is a place with many connections to the Hero of Labor, Colonel Nguyen Dang Giap. From the red basalt dirt road, he evacuated to Nghia Dan, studied at Nghi Loc 1 High School, then twice refused the university gate to become a "Truong Son war horse" of Group 559.
In 1972, the entire Route 20 with a length of more than 120 km was a “fire route”, where Dong Tien slope, A-shaped curve, Ta Le tunnel, Phu La Nhich pass… were burned down by enemy bombs, leaving only a few isolated cassia trees standing alone on the gray, tattered ground. On this road, Nguyen Dang Giap officially became a Truong Son driver with a Zil-57 three-axle vehicle with license plate DT-5134. He experienced fierce enemy attacks, having to quickly rush under the vehicle, hugging the middle bridge to avoid bullets, coordinate bombs grazing his body, causing his left arm to be injured and hurt…
But perhaps the memory that Nguyen Dang Giap remembers most about Truong Son is the time he crossed Pass 141, the border between Quang Tri and Thua Thien. The road was narrow and slippery, when the car reached the top of the pass, another car had "turned upside down", occupying half of the road. After dodging the obstacle, the car plunged straight down a deep abyss of tens of kilometers. By inertia, he returned the steering wheel twice, the car pulled over to an empty space on the side of the road, but because the road was slippery, the car just kept going down, sliding like an arrow, faster and faster. Calmly, he held the steering wheel as if dancing, letting the car curve along the pass, the front of the car curved to this side, the rear of the car curved to that side... After sliding for nearly ten kilometers, he stopped the car at the bottom of the pass. He jumped into the stream, drank a canteen of water, then lay down on a rock, his clothes soaked with sweat like he had crawled out of the stream, and did not cry but tears silently flowed out... But then, that incident was quickly dispelled by him. Backing away from the wheel tracks, he merged into the red dusty Truong Son forest, becoming an indispensable "factor" of Division 471, the second automobile transport division of the Truong Son Command.
Difficulties, pressures, facing the fragile line between life and death, have forged in Nguyen Dang Giap the spirit of a soldier who “does not boast in victory, does not despair in defeat”. On the battlefield, he learned “expensive” lessons, great lessons that no textbook could equip him with. Those were also valuable experiences for him to remind himself later, when struggling in the business world, sometimes it was just as fierce as the battlefield.
Soldier Nguyen Dang Giap during the war was always carefree, innocent, brave, and loyal to his ideals. In peacetime, the spirit of Uncle Ho's soldier remained intact in him, always striving to seize opportunities and realize his aspirations. This special trait in Nguyen Dang Giap caught the eye of the Commander of the 11th Army Corps. From Cam Ranh, he was transferred to be the Station Chief of the TO2 Guest Station - 11th Army Corps in Kim Giang, Hanoi. From here, he officially entered the harsh business world. He attended a Law University class to broaden his theoretical knowledge, expand his relationships, and learn management and business methods. In 2000, his fate with the Western Nghe An region brought him back to Mon Son - Luc Da in a project that marked the beginning of his illustrious career.
The Mon Son dam project blocked the Giang River, providing water for irrigating 500 hectares of rice fields in the two communes of Mon Son and Luc Da (now Mon Son commune); however, by 1999, the two winning contractors had both failed and given up. Floods swept away the project, causing tens of billions of dong in damage. Some people had to take responsibility and were imprisoned...
After careful research on the field, Nguyen Dang Giap realized that the failure of the two previous contractors was due to technical reasons. The geology of the dam construction area was complex, with a lot of gravel. If the pile foundation could not be driven into the bedrock with a special construction method, the dam would not be able to withstand the ferocity of the Giang River. After the research, he reported to the Chief of the 11th Army Corps to bid for the project, and as a result, Construction Team 18, under his Enterprise 37, won the bid.
Every day, he closely followed the project, creatively applied science to practice, and was decisive and bold in the construction progress. The foundation was dug deep through the sand layer to the clay layer, and at the same time, hundreds of square meters of Soviet waterproof grounding fabric were used to line the bottom of the dam. For the foundation joint belt, he used 124 meters of stainless steel instead of the designed iron belt, for the sustainability of the project.
The Year of the Horse 2002 was a special Tet. Nguyen Dang Giap ordered the purchase of supplies and wrapped 500 Chung cakes to be delivered to the construction site. The brothers celebrated Tet on the banks of the Giang River while working for 3 days of Tet. With urgent progress, racing against time and floods, the Mon Son project exceeded the construction plan by 18 months.
In early summer 2002, when Mon Son dam was completed, the floods were raging. The entire Mon Son - Luc Da field was submerged in water. The hundred-year-old banyan tree downstream of the dam was also uprooted. Seeing the raging water submerge the dam that was built with sweat, tears, and all the capital of the company and himself, Mr. Nguyen Dang Giap felt like his heart was on fire.
The rain stopped, the water gradually receded, he and his brothers waded towards the dam. Everyone burst into joy. In the scorching sun at the end of the season, the dam appeared majestically, across the river, covered with a layer of smooth golden silt. So, the flood answered: Mon Son Dam was still standing strong through the great flood... The achievement belongs to those who dared to face and overcome difficulties to win. Mon Son Dam, which the locals call Pha Lai Dam, has turned the dream of flood control of the Mon Son - Luc Da people into reality. In the language of the Thai ethnic group, Pha means sky, Lai means flower. Pha Lai is the flower of the sky, a flower that has decorated the life of the West with more abundance, peace and happiness.
The Mon Son irrigation project created momentum for Nguyen Dang Giap to continue to realize his aspirations. In 2003, he was promoted to Director of Enterprise 36. At that time, the enterprise was on the brink of bankruptcy with a bad debt of 34 billion VND. The remaining machines were rusty, the workplace was a few dilapidated level 4 houses, the whole enterprise was dilapidated and miserable. He struggled alone, determined to rise from the negative, creating trust, gradually establishing a new headquarters at 141 Ho Dac Di - Hanoi, looking for capital and partners for new projects. In the situation where Enterprise 36 had already lost confidence, wherever he went, he only received rejection and shunning... With the decisiveness of a commander, "must save himself before heaven saves him", Nguyen Dang Giap ran around, borrowed from friends, mortgaged his house, and all his assets, used capital to invest in machinery and equipment, and continued to look for customers. Heaven did not disappoint those who worked hard, in just the last 4 months of 2003, Enterprise 36 under his leadership implemented a series of projects with good results, creating momentum to bring Enterprise 36 back from the brink of bankruptcy. From here, he advocated developing the enterprise in both breadth and depth with the motto "Continuous investment, overcoming difficulties, solidarity to make achievements, expanding market share, winning new brands".
A series of projects directly commanded by Nguyen Dang Giap such as: Offices of Party Committees, Headquarters of the Central Inspection Committee, Hall of the Ministry of National Defense, Training Center of the National Economics University, Ban Ve Hydropower Project, etc. have turned a small enterprise, a small dot on the map of the country's construction industry, into a prestigious brand.
After 3 years, Enterprise 36 has transformed into Investment, Construction and Trade Company Limited 36 with revenue of thousands of billions of VND. From here, a series of new projects: B6 Apartment Project, Giang Vo (Hanoi); Project to build air conditioning system for President Ho Chi Minh Mausoleum, Government Office Headquarters, State Bank, 108 Central Military Hospital... continue to affirm the brand, new position, making Enterprise 36 rise to become a Corporation under the Ministry of National Defense, and the first Corporation of the Army to successfully equitize.
Nghe An and the Nguyen Dang clan have fostered in Nguyen Dang Giap a superior will, a sensitive soul and a profound way of behaving like Confucian scholars:“Take one step forward to behave in the world/Take one step back to be human.”Perhaps that is why one of the top principles in Nguyen Dang Giap's corporate culture is that he always puts the interests of the people, humanity and sustainability of the project above profits.
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Through many events, businessman Nguyen Dang Giap still maintains the vernacular, honest, straightforward, and sincere character of a Nghe person. For him, the truth is still the truth even after a thousand years. Therefore, even though "honest words are unpleasant to the ear", "the truth hurts", he never knows how to speak cleverly to please people. He opens his heart to receive the hearts of friends, colleagues, and peers to sympathize and share, listen, respect, and be tolerant. That is also a core feature in the humane way of life of a Nghe person - Nguyen Dang Giap.
“A hundred years then a thousand years
Loyalty remains in friendship
And the rests are never limited
Like the golden autumn, Hanoi enters winter again.
(Autumn Silence – Nguyen Dang Giap)
Nguyen Dang Giap believes that giving is receiving. Therefore, in everyday life or even in the business world, giving and receiving is very easy for him. He can open his arms to welcome the loss-making Company 36, take care of thousands of cadres and workers who are at risk of being "thrown out" to the streets to have a stable life, creating opportunities for them to develop. He also came to the soldiers lying in the cold ground on Hill 21, Gio My, Gio Linh - Quang Tri, helping them and their relatives feel warmer through quiet actions such as burning incense with deep gratitude.
That loyal man, with a deep love for his homeland, returned to his hometown Nghi Truong (today's Dong Loc commune) to respectfully pay tribute to the famous mandarins and generals in a majestic spiritual and cultural work, a special gift for the people today and future generations - Dien Co Temple. After restoration, the work was recognized by the Ministry of Culture as a National Cultural and Historical Relic in 2016.
“Going from silver sand to dry dunes
But now take Hoan Kiem Lake as home
Lam River has one side eroding and the other depositing.
Ginger is spicy and salt is salty, never fading away…”
(Poetry by Nguyen Dang Giap)
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From a barren, sandy land, after 7 years of receiving Enterprise 36, in 2010, Colonel Nguyen Dang Giap was awarded the title of Hero of Labor in the Renovation Period by the State. He was honored to receive the title of Outstanding Entrepreneur of Asia - Pacific for 6 consecutive years, the title of World Entrepreneur twice and was selected as the only representative of Vietnam to receive the Bizz Award of the World Federation of Enterprises in 2022.
He is the one who inspires the next generation, the leader who commands the "ship 36" through storms and reaches the destinations it needs to go.
