Veteran devoted his life to charity work

Memories of Vi Xuyen

Joining the army in 1977, in 1979, soldier Cao Ba Van (born in 1958), in Phuong Lich 1 hamlet, Dien Hoa commune (Dien Chau) and his comrades of Division 390 marched to Vi Xuyen, the northern border, to protect the country's border from the invasion of the Chinese army. Vi Xuyen is mostly rocky mountains, high from the border, gradually decreasing towards the interior of Vietnam. The terrain on the Chinese side is a large plateau, favorable for deploying large formations to attack Vietnam. The terrain on the Vietnamese side is very difficult for deploying large formations for defense and division of labor as well as transportation and support from the rear.

Mr. Van said: At the Vi Xuyen front, the main army units, local army units, and militia were determined to fight and compete with the enemy for each trench and each high point to maintain the sovereignty of the national border. Every 4 pm march, the next morning we heard news that most of our comrades had fallen on the cliffs. Some left with smiles, promises and confidence in a bright tomorrow, but that night they had to leave forever on steep cliffs and deep ravines. Some mountains were pushed back more than 3m. This war was so fierce that our comrades called Vi Xuyen "the lime kiln of the century". In it, many battles to seize and keep land of our army and people took place extremely fiercely, we destroyed and injured tens of thousands of Chinese troops, forcing them to retreat to the other side of the border. The victory was very glorious, but our losses were also very great. More than 4,000 cadres, soldiers and our compatriots heroically sacrificed their lives, most of whom were under 20 years old. Some divisions sacrificed up to 400 - 600 soldiers...

“Up to now, there are still thousands of martyrs scattered across the Vi Xuyen battlefield whose remains we have not found, many martyrs’ graves have no names in the cemetery…”, Mr. Van recalled. Although he only participated in this battlefield for 7 months, the blood and tears of his comrades made him realize that, to have peace and maintain peace, thousands of our soldiers sacrificed heroically...

Deep gratitude

After completing his military service, Mr. Cao Ba Van held many important positions in the army, including the position of Director of the 1st Corps Museum. In every position, he excellently completed the assigned tasks, lived and fought with all his heart, worthy of the title of Uncle Ho's Soldier. Therefore, when he was demobilized and returned to his hometown, he always kept in mind that he had to fulfill his promise to his comrades, not to let the families of those who had contributed to him live in poverty or have dilapidated houses.

Immediately after taking on the role of Chairman of the Dien Hoa Commune Veterans Association, he and the local government reviewed the families of war invalids and martyrs who were still in difficulty to plan to call for help. “Some families of meritorious people who were still having difficulty with housing were supported with 20 million VND from the State budget according to Decision 22/2013/QD-TTg of the Government, but this amount of money was not enough to repair the small, dilapidated houses of many families. Therefore, I came up with many plans and plans to connect and call for more support,” Mr. Van shared.

From connecting with many large enterprises whose owners are children of Dien Hoa commune, Mr. Van has attracted more than 240 million VND to build 4 houses in 2016. Immediately after that, each year he connects and calls for 3-4 houses for policy beneficiaries, each house is supported with 50-80 million VND. With the large amount of money that has been supported, mobilizing the support of people, villagers, and neighbors only needs a small part more... From 2016 to now, Mr. Van has called for support for 20 houses for policy families, meritorious people, and other lonely and disadvantaged elderly people.

In addition to calling for funds to repair houses for the meritorious and the poor, veteran Cao Ba Van also mobilized funds from benefactors who are children living far from home to cook free porridge for poor patients, support workers who have had work accidents, and families in difficult circumstances. For him, the most important thing in doing charity is the role of connecting hearts towards difficult families; when using the funds raised, always be transparent, impartial, avoid misunderstandings, suspicions, and make the recipient feel warm and the giver feel happy. "To attract funds for charity, I have to make people believe, believe because of who I am through my previous work, believe because if the funds go through me, I can ensure that the needy will receive them in a transparent, public, and correct manner," veteran Cao Ba Van shared.

Because of his good work in charity and his reputation, in 2022, veteran Cao Ba Van was appointed Vice Chairman of the District Red Cross Society. In this position, he further promoted his qualities in charity work. "For those working in the Red Cross Society, we must always keep in mind how to spread the spirit of each individual attached to a humanitarian address, only then can we bring timely and necessary support to people in need."

Currently, in Dien Chau district, there are still many difficult situations and dilapidated houses that need the community's help. Mr. Cao Ba Van believes: As long as there are people in need, we still have to go, connect and sacrifice more.

Veteran Cao Ba Van has been honored many times as a typical example in studying and following Ho Chi Minh's ideology, morality and style. For him, learning from Uncle Ho is not difficult, but we must cultivate and practice regularly so that the example not only shines every day but also is for generations to look up to and follow.