"Banyan tree" of Ke Sung village

(Baonghean) - People of Ke Sung village (Mau Duc - Con Cuong) have chosen Mr. Luong Van Do as a prestigious village elder for nearly 5 years now. Not only is he an exemplary person, he is also recognized for his contributions to the revolution and the village...

I visited Mr. Luong Van Do in his newly built house with fresh tiled roofs. Today, he was back to being as agile and active as usual. However, just a week ago, he underwent two surgeries to remove a prostate tumor and bladder stones. He said that in the past few years, he had to undergo four surgeries. However, illness could not defeat this 81-year-old man. His second son shared: He is healthy thanks to the optimistic spirit of Uncle Ho's soldiers.

Village elder Luong Van Do.

Since he was a teenager, Mr. Do followed the Viet Minh guerrillas and was appointed as a liaison. He said: At that time, the district still had French and Japanese invaders. In the middle of the Lam River, through the Vuc Bong Strait (Yen Khe commune), there was a district office where many revolutionaries were imprisoned and exiled, causing resentment among the people. He was born in Nua village (Yen Khe), near the district office, so he witnessed many crimes committed by the colonial-feudal government. He joined the guerrilla team in Yen Khe and served as a guide in several battles in 1945 to seize power.

Because he was a "literate" person, when the government fell into the hands of the revolution, he participated in teaching popular education classes. Later, he was elected as the Secretary of the Yen Khe Commune Youth Union. However, during more than 20 years of revolutionary activities, Mr. Do remembered most the years as the Secretary of the Youth Union of the Ethnic Minority School (Mon Son Commune - Con Cuong). During the years from 1963 to 1965, his army reclaimed 7 hectares of rice fields for the people of neighboring villages. This meaningful work was remembered by the people forever. Later, every time they visited again, many people still remembered him and the students of the school...

In 1968, he joined the army and worked in Military Region 4 and the Upper Laos battlefield. After leaving the army in 1971, he moved to live in Mau Duc commune and was transferred to work as the commune Party Committee Secretary. In 1975, he retired, and the commune government at that time asked him to stay and work in the Party Committee in charge of mass organizations. He only retired in 1978.

When he returned home, the economic situation at that time was difficult, he and his family reclaimed the abandoned land near the village. After only a few years, from a place of hunger, his family had enough rice to eat. During the subsidy period, having enough food for the family was a great effort. In the following years, when the Contract 10 policy was introduced, he enthusiastically took on forest protection. Currently, after re-dividing the forest, his family has 12 hectares of forest and a farm with rice fields, fish ponds...

With his personal contributions and spirit of overcoming difficulties in peacetime, Mr. Luong Van Do was awarded many medals and orders by the Party and State, including the First Class Anti-American Resistance Medal in 1987 and the 50-year Party membership badge.

Article and photos:ACTION