Comrade Nguyen Gia - First Deputy Secretary of the Communist Youth Union of Nghe An province in 1931

Comrade Nguyen Gia (during his activities, he also had the names: Nguyen Gia Tuong, Kien, Can), born in 1906 [1], from Dan Nhiem village, Xuan Lieu commune (now Xuan Hoa commune), Nam Dan district, Nghe An province. Nguyen Gia's father was a poor Confucian scholar with a progressive patriotic spirit. Recognizing his son's intelligence and compassion, his parents created conditions for him to attend Chinese and Vietnamese classes from the age of 7.

In 1927, the Vietnam Revolutionary Youth Association was nurtured and developed in the Central provinces. The association's sub-group in Kim Lien (Nam Dan) at that time was considered one of the earliest established Youth sub-groups in Nghe An. From the first Youth sub-group in Kim Lien, the association's base gradually expanded to other villages such as Dan Nhiem, Thanh Thuy, Thanh Dam, etc. Under the strong influence of the Youth Association, comrade Nguyen Gia had access to many progressive books and newspapers, and actively participated in local patriotic activities. As a knowledgeable person, he became an active member in propagating patriotic and revolutionary literature and poetry through the National Language class held at the Nguyen Canh Hien family temple.

In April 1930, the Provisional Executive Committee of Nam Dan District Party Committee was established, taking on the task of leading the revolutionary movement of the masses. To meet the requirements of that task, the Regional Party Committee and the Provincial Party Committee directed the reorganization of the new Nam Dan District Party Committee with comrade Dang Chanh Ky as Secretary. After its establishment, the District Party Committee members met and decided to quickly propagate to establish grassroots Party organizations throughout the district. In just a short time, the Nam Dan District Party Committee built a systematic Party organization system from the district level to the village and commune levels.

At the Dan Nhiem village communal house, the Dan Lac Party Cell was established, responsible for leading the common struggle movement of the people of the two villages of Dan Nhiem and Thinh Lac. In order for the Party's leadership to reach the villages and hamlets, the Dan Nhiem village Party Cell was also established. Comrade Nguyen Gia was elected Secretary by the Party members in the cell. Under the leadership of Comrade Nguyen Gia and the Dan Nhiem Party Cell, the people quickly participated in activities of listening to speeches and revolutionary propaganda. After only a short time, the masses were enlightened and enthusiastically participated in the common struggle movement of the commune, district and the whole province.

In early June 1930, the Nam Dan District Party Committee convened a conference at Chung Mountain to discuss a plan to mobilize the masses to demonstrate, submit demands to the Nam Dan District Chief, and protest against the French colonialists and the Southern Dynasty feudalists who terrorized the people in Vinh - Ben Thuy and Hanh Lam (Thanh Chuong), demanding that they implement the demands of the workers and farmers on International Labor Day (May 1, 1930). To gather the masses and surprise the enemy, the District Party Committee decided to choose June 18, 1930 (Don Market meeting day) as the day to carry out the struggle.

Implementing the policy of the District Party Committee, comrade Nguyen Gia and his comrades in the Party cell quickly carried out propaganda work to the people. The Dan Nhiem Party cell organized many small-scale rallies and speeches at the village communal house to mobilize people to rise up against oppression and exploitation.

Thanks to the timely mobilization of the Party cell, from early morning on June 18, the people of Dan Nhiem village joined the crowds of people from all directions to Don market. The demonstration surprised the district officials. District Chief Le Khac Tuong panicked and tried to escape to Vinh but was stopped by the demonstrators, forcing him to return to the district office and receive the protesters' demands to forward to his superiors. Next, the District Party Committee sent a representative to speak at Don market, demanding tax reduction, fighting against corvee labor, miscellaneous labor, etc. The demonstration of the people of Nam Dan on June 18 at Don market caused a great stir, contributing together with the workers of Vinh - Ben Thuy and the people of the districts to promote the revolutionary struggle movement in the whole province.

In mid-August 1930, in the midst of the seething revolutionary situation, the Nam Dan District Party Committee convened a cadre conference at Co Co's house (in Kim Lien commune). The conference advocated relying on the rising revolutionary situation to mobilize the masses to participate in a large-scale demonstration throughout the district. Implementing the District Party Committee's policy, comrade Nguyen Gia and the Party cell did not hesitate to go deep, mobilizing the people of Dan Nhiem to urgently prepare mentally for a new large-scale struggle. Thanks to the comrades' enthusiastic activities, the preparations for the demonstration were carefully and specifically arranged.

On August 30, 1930, under the leadership of the Party committees at all levels, the people of each commune would gather at a location, gathering separately before the rally. When the sky just broke dawn, the sound of drums, gongs, bells, cheers, and slogans echoed throughout the villages and hamlets. The people of Dan Nhiem, under the leadership of comrade Nguyen Gia, gathered at Tan Duong pagoda (the gathering place of the people of Xuan Lieu commune). Here, the people listened to the Party cadres give speeches, encouraging the revolutionary spirit, denouncing the crimes of colonialism and feudalism, calling for support for the Party, etc. After listening to the speeches, under the hammer and sickle flag, the protesters of the communes walked, beating drums and gongs, shouting slogans, and spreading leaflets everywhere. The protesters carried sticks and passed through the villages, smashing guard posts, and punishing the local landlords who opposed the revolution.

When the District Chief ordered soldiers to close the district office gate, the protesters broke the gate, broke the fence, and rushed in, causing the soldiers and officials in the district to find a way to escape. The protesters broke the prison door, freed the detainees, burned all the records and books, and forced District Chief Le Khac Tuong to appear before the masses to give a speech exposing the crimes. Fearful of the fighting spirit of the masses, the District Chief had to sign and stamp the commitment: "From now on, the District Chief of Nam Dan will not harass the people"[2].

Building on that victory, the Nam Dan District Party Committee advocated that each commune and village organize rallies and demonstrations to demonstrate power, suppress and punish the reactionary tyrants, and force them to submit their land registers and books to the Commune Farmers' Association (Executive Committee of the Farmers' Association). The Commune Farmers' Association and the Village Farmers' Association officially introduced themselves to the people and managed all work in the commune and village, from building and protecting the revolutionary government to organizing the local economic, political and social life. With his prestige, comrade Nguyen Gia was elected by the organization as Secretary of the Dan Nhiem Village Farmers' Association.

In early 1931, comrade Nguyen Gia was assigned by the Provincial Party Committee to another assignment. In May 1931, the Standing Committee of the Nghe An Provincial Party Committee appointed him as the first Deputy Secretary of the Nghe An Provincial Communist Youth Union. Under his leadership and that of the Provincial Youth Union, Nghe An youth became the core force of Party committees at all levels and mass organizations, and the main driving force of the struggles in the Nghe Tinh Soviet movement of 1930-1931.

Comrade Nguyen Gia's active activities were noticed by French secret police and puppet authorities. In January 1932, Comrade Nguyen Gia was arrested by the enemy and sentenced to 3 years in prison and 2 years of house arrest, according to Verdict No. 38, dated January 2, 1932, of the Nam Trieu Court of Nghe An province.

In 1933, after being released, comrade Nguyen Gia returned to his hometown, contacted Party organizations in Vinh and Thanh Chuong, continued revolutionary activities, and rebuilt the movement in Nam Dan district. According to the enemy's surveillance records, the French secret police wrote:“… May 1935, monitoring activities because of meeting with communist party members in Thanh Chuong District Party Committee…”.

In the democratic revolutionary movement of 1936-1939, comrade Nguyen Gia became one of the leading flags of Nam Dan district. On September 20, 1936, together with comrades: Pham Nghiem, Le Van Thong, Huyen Huu Thai, ... comrade Nguyen Gia represented the people of Nam Dan to attend the Indochina Provincial Congress at Quang Tri Hall, Vinh City. This is considered the first victory of the legal struggle movement in Nghe An during the period of 1936-1939.

After this meeting, in order to promptly direct the restoration of the Party Committee and launch the Indochina Congress movement in Nam Dan, under the direction of comrade Nguyen Duc Duong, representative of Nghe An Provincial Party Committee, the provisional Executive Committee of Nam Dan District Party Committee was established, consisting of 3 comrades: Nguyen Gia, Pham Nghiem and Nguyen Ha Sam. Comrade Nguyen Gia was appointed as Secretary.

Implementing the Provincial Party Committee's policy, Comrade Nguyen Gia led the Party members to go deep into each village and commune to connect with Party members and political prisoners, and at the same time, strengthen the work of mobilizing the masses. On February 23, 1937, Comrade Nguyen Gia and the Nam Dan Provisional District Party Committee mobilized the masses to come to Vinh to honor the reception of Gordard, the investigation envoy of the French Popular Front Government. The People's Petitions of the villages and communes were also collected by Comrade Nguyen Gia and the District Party Committee and handed over to the provincial delegation to directly hand over to Gordard. In addition, thanks to the direction of Comrade Nguyen Gia as well as the active activities of Party members and former political prisoners, the Party cells in Nam Dan were gradually restored to mobilize and lead the people to participate in public and semi-public organizations to unite in the struggle for people's rights and democracy in the new situation.

In March 1938, the Nam Dan District Party Congress was held, electing the official Executive Committee of the District Party Committee, consisting of 5 comrades. Comrade Nguyen Gia was elected by the Congress to continue holding the position of Secretary. Comrades Nguyen Gia and Nguyen Ha Sam were also 2 delegates of the district who had the honor to attend the 2nd Nghe An Provincial Party Congress (April 1938).

On October 23, 1939, due to being tipped off, comrade Nguyen Gia was arrested by the enemy. Knowing that he was a key Party cadre and District Party Secretary, the enemy used many tricks to bribe, entice, and beat him to get information. Unable to get any information, the feudal Southern Dynasty government sentenced him to 1 year in prison and 1 year of house arrest under Verdict No. 44, dated March 12, 1940. On October 24, 1940, comrade Nguyen Gia was considered by the enemy to be a "dangerous element" and was taken from Vinh Prison to Tra Khe (Phu Yen).

In March 1945, Comrade Nguyen Gia was released and returned to his hometown. He continued to join hands with party members and former political prisoners to actively participate in the local revolutionary movement, contributing to the victory of the August Revolution in the entire district on August 23, 1945. After seizing power, the Provisional Revolutionary Committee of Nam Dan district was quickly elected and introduced to the entire people. Comrade Nguyen Gia was elected as one of the 11 members of the Committee, in charge of judicial work.

In the following historical periods, Comrade Nguyen Gia always promoted the steadfast and indomitable spirit of the Nghe Tinh Soviet soldier, contributing his efforts to the struggle and liberation of the country. He had experienced many important tasks, such as: Secretary of the Hung Tien Commune Party Cell (1948), Member of the Executive Committee of the Nam Dan District Party Committee (1949), officer of the Ministry of Internal Affairs (1955-1959), Deputy Head of the Organization Department of the Vietnam-Soviet Friendship Hospital in Hanoi (1959-1965), etc.

Having been tempered by hardships and difficulties in the Nghe Tinh Soviet movement, comrade Nguyen Gia has become one of the exemplary steadfast revolutionary soldiers of his hometown Nam Dan. During his working life, he has been trusted by the Party and the State, assigned many important tasks and responsibilities, and in any position, he has always completed all tasks excellently. With his contributions to the national liberation movement, comrade Nguyen Gia has been recognized by the Party and the State and awarded many noble awards, such as: Second-class Independence Medal (1985), First-class Resistance Medal (1987), Commemorative Medal for Revolutionary Soldiers Captured and Imprisoned by the Enemy (1997), 70-year Party membership badge (2000), etc.