Revolutionary soldier from Nghe An province once served as Secretary of the Provincial Party Committee of 3 provinces.

16 years old as party cell secretary

The Provincial Party Secretary we are referring to isComrade Vo Thuc Dong- a typical revolutionary veteran from Thanh Ngoc commune, Thanh Chuong district. His family was well-off and also a base for many people with progressive revolutionary ideas, so Vo Thuc Dong soon absorbed patriotic ideas, especially when he witnessed the movement demanding amnesty for Phan Boi Chau and the movement demanding mourning and memorial service for Phan Chau Trinh when he went to study in Hue. Returning to his hometown, he studied at the home of the First Prize Winner Le Thuoc, an educator and researcher in the early 20th century.

Here, Vo Thuc Dong often met with the First Prize Winner Le Van Huan - who participated in the Dong Du movement of Phan Boi Chau, was exiled to Con Dao by the French and released, and was one of the founders of the Tan Viet Party in Vinh. That environment had a profound influence on Vo Thuc Dong's thinking and direction, and he soon followed the call of the Party. He joined the Nghe An Biology Association (also known as the Xich Sinh Association) - a semi-armed organization of the Red Self-Defense (also known as the Xich Ve) established among patriotic youth and students under the leadership of the Party; participated in the Nghe Tinh Soviet movement.

In October 1930, comrade Vo Thuc Dong was admitted to the Indochinese Communist Party, at the age of 16, and held the position of Secretary of the Kim Tinh Party Cell in Yen Lac village; then held the position of Secretary of the General Committee of Dai Dong, one of the five communes of Thanh Chuong district at that time. A while later, he joined the district's Youth Movement Committee and was a member of the Communist Youth Union.

“There Ben Thuy stood up first/There Thanh Chuong followed, stepping up…” -The Nghe Tinh Soviet movement in Thanh Chuong was boiling but was brutally suppressed by colonialists and feudalists. Vo Thuc Dong, his brother Vo Thuc Dinh and his sister Vo Thi Ta were all arrested for participating in revolutionary activities. The youngest brother Vo Thuc Dong, although only 16 years old, was still sentenced to life in prison. He was imprisoned in Vinh Prison for a short time and then transferred to Lao Bao Prison (Quang Tri), then exiled to Con Dao Prison, which was known as hell on earth. In Con Dao, he was imprisoned in Lao I and suffered many tortures from the enemy, but the young communist did not submit. In the "hell on earth", he and his fellow prisoners also founded a newspaper for the prison cell called "General Opinion" for propaganda.

Comrade Vo Thuc Dong in 1967. Photo archive

Secretary of Provincial Party Committee of 3 provinces

After nearly 15 years of going through 3 prisons, comrade Vo Thuc Dong experienced many challenges, using prison as a revolutionary school, together with many other loyal cadres of the Party, the will of a communist was increasingly fostered, maintaining his integrity. After the success of the August Revolution, liberated from prison, comrade Vo Thuc Dong continued to make outstanding contributions to the Party and the nation. After 56 years of revolutionary activities, he held many different positions, in many localities and fields throughout the South, Central and Central regions.

Since 1971, he was assigned the position of Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of the Democratic Republic of Vietnam to the Soviet Union; since 1974, he was acting Chairman, then Chairman of the Central Agricultural Committee, and concurrently Secretary of the Party Delegation; since mid-1976, he was Minister, Secretary of the Party Delegation of the Ministry of Agriculture. He was also a member of the Party Central Committee of the 3rd and 4th terms and a delegate to the 3rd and 4th National Assembly.

When studying the life and career of comrade Vo Thuc Dong, we had access to very valuable documents, showing that in addition to being the Secretary of the Nghe An Provincial Party Committee from 1959 to 1971, he was also the Secretary of the Provincial Party Committee of two provinces, Kon Tum (March 1946) and Quang Binh. Especially with the land of Quang Binh, he had many attachments and memories both in his position as the head of the Provincial Party Committee and personally. Looking back at the History of the Quang Binh Party Committee, it is recorded that: In 1949, in Quang Binh, after occupying the coastal plain, the enemy pushed all our cadres and soldiers to the midland mountains in the West. Quang Binh in particular, Binh Tri Thien in general, became a fierce and complicated battlefield. The enemy carried out comprehensive attacks on all military, political and economic aspects.

Comrade Vo Thuc Dong's family in 1971. Photo archive

In that context, on May 14, 1949, the 2nd Congress of the Quang Binh Provincial Party Committee was convened in Kim Bang (Tuyen Hoa), now Minh Hoa district. 90 delegates representing more than 4,698 party members attended. Comrade Vo Thuc Dong was elected Secretary of the Quang Binh Provincial Party Committee. Implementing the Resolution of the Congress, Comrade Vo Thuc Dong and the Party Committee led the resistance movement called "Quang Binh uprising" to win many important victories, bringing the resistance movement in Quang Binh to new heights in both breadth and depth, creating the premise for the Quang Binh Party Committee to continue leading the resistance to the final victory.

Comrade Vo Thuc Dong also held the position of Secretary of Nghe An Provincial Party Committee from the early stages of building the province after the resistance war against the French; as well as the most fierce period of the war.anti-American resistance. He, together with the Provincial Party Committee and the Provincial Administrative Committee, overcame the consequences of war, developed the economy, and reformed socialism. In July 1960, he and the Provincial Party Executive Committee launched the campaign: "Soviet Drumbeat", thereby reclaiming land, restoring land, applying technical advances, and solving food problems; then launched the campaigns "An - Ngai uprising", "Lam - Tra rising waves" to both develop the comprehensive movement of Nghe An and demonstrate the spirit of solidarity and loyalty to the sister province of Quang Ngai.

Nghe An farmers in the campaign 'Lam - Tra Noi Song'. Photo: Archive

During the period when the US invaded the North, Provincial Party Secretary Vo Thuc Dong was present at most of the key routes ensuring traffic along the national highways, along the sea route from Lach Con to Ben Thuy port. Besides leading the fight against the US's destructive war and agricultural production, Provincial Party Secretary Vo Thuc Dong also paid attention to comprehensive leadership in all aspects, especially education, medical treatment, health care, building cultural and artistic movements for the people;...

From the poor countryside of Thanh Chuong, following the call of the Party, comrade Vo Thuc Dong affirmed the qualities of a communist soldier and his talent in many fields, whether in the army, leading the Provincial Party Committee of 3 provinces, or undertaking important tasks in the fields of diplomacy and agriculture. "Comrade Vo Thuc Dong's revolutionary life demonstrated the noble qualities of a communist party member, not afraid of hardships and sacrifices, always dedicated, striving, exemplary in work as well as in life, successfully completing all tasks assigned by the Party, State and People", these are the lines summarizing about comrade Vo Thuc Dong in the book: "Nghe An - Typical children" directed by the Standing Committee of the Provincial Party Committee and the Provincial Party Committee's Propaganda Department to collect documents, compile and publish, which is also the conclusion of the article about an outstanding child of Nghe An homeland.

Thanh Duy