The veteran party member devoted his life

His son said: You guys wait a moment, he is about to return from the Party cell meeting... A moment later, he was seen slowly riding his bicycle from the alley. I was surprised that an old man of 98 years old, 78 years of Party membership, still had bright eyes, good hearing, and a clear mind, still regularly attended Party cell activities without missing a single session. I worriedly told the teacher: "I am almost a hundred years old, so I can retire from Party activities, teacher." The teacher happily said: "I only asked to retire from the village meetings this year, but for Party cell meetings, I have to go to receive and meet comrades. Since joining the Party until now (almost 78 years), I have only retired from regular activities 3 times, on two occasions when I was hospitalized at Viet Xo Hospital, and have not yet retired from any activities."

A life dedicated to education

The loyal and exemplary veteran party member Ngo Xuan Lan. Photo: Hien Anh

Mr. Ngo Xuan Lan (born in 1927) came from a studious peasant family. He studied Chinese and Vietnamese with tutors Tran Ngoc Nhuan and Tran Phiet - patriotic teachers at Truong Hao Kiet, so he was enlightened about the revolution early. In the middle months of 1945, when the Viet Minh movement was boiling, he was contacted by his relative Ngo Xuan Ham who had just returned from Ban Me Thuot prison from Yen Xa village to Vinh Tuy to visit, who assigned him the task of copying and writing leaflets for the Viet Minh Yen Thanh organization, contributing to the propaganda of the 10 Policies of Viet Minh in the southern communes of Yen Thanh district, and participating in the uprising to seize power in his hometown.

After the August Revolution, he actively participated in youth work for national salvation, was in charge of propaganda work, and was nurtured by the Quan Son Party Cell (including villages in 3 communes of Vinh Thanh, Long Thanh, and Tien Thanh) to sympathize with Party members and was admitted to the Party in early December 1946 with Mr. Tran Dien and Mr. Tran Luyen and was appointed as the first Party cell leader of the village.

In mid-1947, Yen Thanh district opened the first school year of Le Doan Nha Private High School. Mr. Ngo Xuan Lan applied to enroll and was appointed as the school's Youth Union Leader to help the school lead the school's youth movement. Together with Principal Phan Lo, since 1948, Mr. Phan Ngoc, Youth Union Leader Ngo Xuan Lan led the patriotic movement of students, turning Le Doan Nha School into a place to train knowledgeable human resources to provide for the resistance war against French colonialism.

In 1950, when the resistance war against the French entered a fierce stage, more than 50 upper-class students and teacher Phan Ngoc volunteered to go to the front line. Mr. Ngo Xuan Lan applied to join the army, but due to a leg disability, he was sent to study the Resistance Pedagogy class in Nghe An. After finishing his studies, he was assigned to work as a teacher at Le Doan Nha School. In the 1953-1954 school year, Le Doan Nha School merged with Phan Chu Trinh School from Vinh to Yen Thanh, Mr. Ngo Xuan Lan was appointed Principal. After 1954, this school changed its name to Yen Thanh District Secondary School, with teacher Ngo Xuan Lan as Principal and Party Cell Secretary. He contributed with the school's board of directors to organize a team of teachers to overcome many difficulties in the post-war years, organize teaching and learning, and create a comprehensive education movement in the school.

In 1961, Yen Thanh district established the first high school of the district, Mr. Ngo Xuan Lan was appointed as the Party cell secretary, one of four teachers who made up the "quartet" of school leaders. In the early years of building the school, there were many difficulties. Mr. Ngo Xuan Lan actively and diligently connected the relationships between the district party committee, the committee and the commune agencies and the school to find a location to build thatched bamboo classrooms enough for nine classes. Especially in his role as Party cell secretary, he had the merit of training and admitting many young teachers into the Party. There were cases like the young teacher Truong Cong Anh, who was a good teacher and a very active school youth union secretary, but when he filled out his personal profile to apply for party membership, the local Party committee did not confirm it just because his mother sold groceries at Luong market (Do Luong). Mr. Ngo Xuan Lan went directly to meet the Party committee of the commune, met the Party cell secretary to explain and persuade the locality to directly confirm the request in the profile for him to take home. There were students who studied well but the commune did not let them go to university because their family was slow to join the cooperative or for other reasons... they came to ask Mr. Lan to help influence the locality, many students who received his help became excellent cadres.

In the 1963-1964 school year, Yen Thanh district divided the first high school into two high schools, Yen Thanh 1 and Yen Thanh 2. Mr. Ngo Xuan Lan was invited by the secretary and chairman of the district to meet and assign responsibility for the tasks at the new school and directly serve as the secretary of the party cell. The leaders of Yen Thanh district encouraged him: He contributed to the first high school of the district, the school had a form, teaching and learning began to be organized. Now that the new school was established, the new team of teachers was gathered from many sources, the facilities were not enough... it was difficult for the district to trust and send him to take on the role of "political commissar", the center of solidarity.

At Yen Thanh 2 High School, Mr. Ngo Xuan Lan - Party cell secretary, together with Principal Phan Dang Dieu and Youth Union Secretary Truong Cong Anh, worried about and oversaw all the work with many difficulties. During his years at Yen Thanh 2 High School, Mr. Ngo Xuan Lan had an initiative to propose to the Party cell and Yen Thanh District Party Committee to train and admit outstanding 10th grade students into the Party. Mr. Lan's initiative was supported by the school leaders and created a Youth Union movement with many positive activities in studying and working to build the school. There were years when the Party cell of Yen Thanh 2 High School trained and admitted 28 10th grade students into the Party. Among them, many became intellectual cadres in many fields. Some of the party members admitted that day include: Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs Nguyen Tam Chien; Doctor, President of the Aviation Academy Tran Quang Chau; Doctor, Colonel, Head of Faculty Tran Ngoc Khai; Associate Professor, Dr. Dao Khang; Colonel Nguyen Ly; Dr. Dao Quang Hieu; Yen Thanh District Party Secretary Pham Xuan Hoi...

After several years at Yen Thanh 2 High School, Mr. Ngo Xuan Lan was sent to study at Nguyen Ai Quoc School in Hanoi. Graduating with honors, he was assigned to the Propaganda Department of Nghe An Provincial Party Committee, in charge of the News and Propaganda Department. Taking on this new job, while the resistance war against the US was in its fiercest stage, the US imperialists were bombing many places in Nghe An, Mr. Ngo Xuan Lan had to say goodbye to his old mother and young children and carry his backpack to the Provincial Party Committee office. With the new knowledge he had acquired at the Senior Party School, with his passion for learning and research, and with the oral propaganda talent of a veteran teacher, Mr. Ngo Xuan Lan went to the bases, classrooms, and battlefields to report on current events and propagate the Party and State's policies; setting an example to popularize typical examples, events, and heroic figures in the resistance war against the US to save the country. Wherever Mr. Lan went, to whichever locality, he brought positive inspiration, contributing to raising awareness and strengthening the confidence of Party cadres and members. Mr. Ngo Xuan Lan's modest, simple, erudite, and humorous way of communicating left a good impression and contributed to raising the level of Party building propaganda work. There were topics and subjects that seemed dry and rigid, but through the careful summarization, careful preparation and artistry, as well as the talent and courage of a dedicated and responsible propaganda cadre, Mr. Ngo Xuan Lan's lectures left a good impression on Party cadres and members.

Exemplary and honest veteran cadres

Comrade Nguyen Van Lu - Standing Deputy Secretary of Vinh City Party Committee awarded the 75-year Party badge to veteran party member Ngo Xuan Lan. Photo: Hien Anh

In 1975-1976, Mr. Ngo Xuan Lan was sent to study Philosophy at the Nguyen Ai Quoc High-Level Party School. After two years of study, he became the Head of the Philosophy Department of Tran Phu Party School, Nghe Tinh Province. During his 10 years in this role, he contributed to building Tran Phu Party School into a center for training quality cadres of local Party schools. During this time, he also participated in writing articles on Party building, collaborating with newspapers such as Nghe An Newspaper, Communist Magazine, Party Building Magazine and participating in writing a book summarizing 50 Nghe An Propaganda activities. From his retirement in 1999 until the age of 90, he regularly participated in Party activities and was active in the local Party cell. He was active because he accepted to be a reporter for the Commune Party Committee and rarely missed the monthly meetings of the Provincial Party Committee's Propaganda Department. In the past seven years, his children and grandchildren have urged him to rest, but he still reads newspapers, listens to the radio, reads reference books, and takes notes. Occasionally, when the Party Committee or Party cell needs it, he still reports on current events.

After his retirement, he was seriously ill and had to be treated at Viet Xo Hospital. When he was on the operating table, standing in the outer room, next to his children and grandchildren, there were more than a dozen of his students, some of them were high school students, some were Party school students, and some were high-ranking officials. His house was deep in the village, but his old school friends often came to visit him every time they visited Vinh or during Tet.

Having devoted his life to education and the cause of Party building, teacher Ngo Xuan Lan was recognized as a cadre who participated in pre-uprising activities, was awarded the 75-year Party badge two years ago, and many medals. He was invited by the Nghe An Provincial Party Committee to attend the opening session of the Provincial Party Congress for the 2020-2025 term as a representative of exemplary and honest veteran cadres.

On the day he was honored to receive the 75-year Party badge, his children and grandchildren suggested organizing an intimate meal, but he told them to keep it within the family. At the end of the party, he gave the money that came with the badge to all his grandchildren who were in high school and university, and reminded them to follow Uncle Ho's example of lifelong learning. He himself was a person who set an example of studiousness, overcoming difficulties to study; cultivating moral qualities throughout his life, setting an example of thrift, integrity and honesty. When I visited him when he had just returned from a Party cell meeting, I jokingly said: "Strive to celebrate our Party's 80-year-old badge by the year we receive it." He said: "I'm also hoping for that, but as long as I can walk, I'll try to attend Party cell meetings, this is also a need of life like daily food and water."