55th Anniversary of Ho Chi Minh Trail Opening Day (May 19, 1959 - 2014)

(Baonghean.vn) - In the atmosphere of the historic May days, on the occasion of the 124th anniversary of President Ho Chi Minh's birthday, on the morning of May 19, 2014 in Vinh City, the Ho Chi Minh Trail Traditional Association of Nghe An Province solemnly held the 55th anniversary of the opening of the Ho Chi Minh Trail, the traditional day of the Truong Son Troops (May 19, 1959 - May 19, 2014) and received the special National Monument.

Attending the ceremony were comrades: Major General Vo So - Chairman of the Central Committee of the Ho Chi Minh Trail Truong Son Tradition Association of Vietnam, Major General Nguyen Sy Hoi - Deputy Commander of Military Region IV, Le Xuan Dai - Member of the Provincial Party Committee, Vice Chairman of Nghe An Provincial People's Committee, delegates who are former commanders, generals, retired military officers, Heroes of the People's Armed Forces, and 450 delegates representing 27,000 cadres, members of the Truong Son Veterans Association, former youth volunteers and frontline workers who directly fought and contributed along the Ho Chi Minh Trail more than 55 years ago.

View of the Celebration.

Delegates attending the Celebration

55 years ago, implementing the Resolution of the Party Central Committee on the revolution in the South, on May 19, 1959, the Standing Committee of the Central Military Commission officially established a special working group and named it Group 559. The group was tasked with opening the Truong Son road to support the Southern battlefield towards the common goal of liberating the country. In just a short time after its establishment, Group 559 won many important victories, opened a military transport route, a communication route hundreds of kilometers long in extremely difficult and arduous conditions. By the end of 1961, Group 559 had developed to the equivalent of a Division, then upgraded to a Command equivalent to a military region. By 1973, the 559 Command had a powerful force with 9 divisions, arms and 21 subordinate regiments. The army had more than 100,000 officers and soldiers and more than 10,000 Youth Volunteers.

The anniversary is an opportunity for generations of cadres, soldiers and all classes of people to review the glorious tradition of the Truong Son Army 55 years ago. On the historic Truong Son - Ho Chi Minh road with 5 vertical axes, 21 horizontal axes with a total length of more than 17,000 km, a closed road of 3,140 km, a river system of 500 km. During the 16 years of fighting from 1959 to 1975, the Truong Son Army forces filled 78,000 bomb craters, cleared 110,000 bombs and mines of all kinds; transported more than 1 million tons of weapons, ammunition and medicine to support the battlefield; destroyed and captured 17,740 enemies, liberated a large area in the Southern Laos region; shot down 2,455 aircraft of all kinds... Through the fighting, many outstanding collectives and individuals appeared. The Truong Son forces were honored by the Party and State as Heroes of the People's Armed Forces and were awarded the Ho Chi Minh Medal. There were 81 units and 48 individuals honored as heroes, including 5 outstanding children of Nghe An homeland.

Comrade Le Xuan Dai - Vice Chairman of the Provincial People's Committee spoke at the Anniversary Ceremony

Speaking at the ceremony, comrade Le Xuan Dai - Member of the Provincial Party Committee, Vice Chairman of Nghe An Provincial People's Committee affirmed that the establishment of Group 559 - Truong Son Troops demonstrated the extremely clear vision of President Ho Chi Minh and the Central Military Commission in the resistance war to protect the Fatherland of the entire nation. The establishment of Truong Son Road - Ho Chi Minh Road had a decisive significance for the complete victory of the Vietnamese revolution in 1975. The Vice Chairman of the Provincial People's Committee also said that the Party, State and people never forget the blood sacrifices and contributions of the previous generations for the independence and freedom of the nation and the happiness of the people. One of the most concrete evidences is that on December 9, 2013, the Prime Minister issued Decision 2383/QD-TTg ranking Truong Son Road - Ho Chi Minh Road as a special national historical relic. In which Nghe An is honored to have Km0 (Km number 0) in Lat town, Tan Ky district.

On behalf of the provincial leaders, comrade Le Xuan Dai presented Certificates of Merit from the Provincial People's Committee to exemplary collectives and individuals.

Major General Vo So presented certificates of merit from the Central Committee of the Ho Chi Minh Trail and Truong Son Tradition Association to outstanding units and individuals.

On this occasion, the Central Committee of the Ho Chi Minh Trail Truong Son Traditional Association awarded 7 collectives and 11 individuals of the grassroots organizations of the Association in Nghe An province. The Provincial People's Committee also awarded Certificates of Merit to 8 units and 11 individuals of the Truong Son Traditional Association of the province for their outstanding achievements in the emulation movement to celebrate the 55th anniversary of the opening of the Truong Son - Ho Chi Minh Trail.

Dao Tuan