Respectful Memorial Ceremony for Heroes and Martyrs at Truong Bon

On the evening of October 11, towards the 56th anniversary of Truong Bon victory (October 31, 1968 - October 31, 2024), the Provincial Youth Union Standing Committee, Do Luong District Party Committee, and the Executive Committee of the Vietnam Buddhist Sangha of Nghe An province solemnly held a memorial service for heroes and martyrs who sacrificed their lives at Truong Bon, My Son commune, Do Luong district.

Attending the ceremony were comrades: Thai Thanh Quy - Member of the Party Central Committee, Secretary of the Provincial Party Committee, Chairman of the Provincial People's Council, Head of the Provincial National Assembly Delegation; Nguyen Duc Trung - Deputy Secretary of the Provincial Party Committee, Chairman of the Provincial People's Committee and comrades of the Provincial Party Standing Committee: Le Duc Cuong - Head of the Provincial Party Committee's Organization Committee; Pham Trong Hoang - Chairman of the Provincial Party Committee's Inspection Committee; Nguyen Nam Dinh - Permanent Vice Chairman of the Provincial People's Council; Vo Thi Minh Sinh - Chairman of the Vietnam Fatherland Front Committee of Nghe An province and leaders of agencies, departments and branches of the province, leaders of localities in the province.

On behalf of the Organizing Committee of the Great Ceremony, there was Most Venerable Thich Tho Lac - Standing Member of the Executive Council, Head of the Central Cultural Committee of the Vietnam Buddhist Sangha, Deputy Standing Head of the Executive Committee of the Vietnam Buddhist Sangha of Nghe An province; along with Venerable monks, senior monks, monks, nuns, and Buddhists.

Also attending were relatives of heroes, martyrs and a large number of people.

During the resistance war against America to save the country, Nghe An was the direct rear of the great southern frontline, the great frontline of the great socialist northern rearline.

Truong Bon was the traffic artery that supplied manpower and resources to the southern battlefield. In the midst of the fierce smoke and fire, bullets and bombs, life and death were close at hand, thousands of cadres, soldiers, frontline laborers and people steadfastly held their ground, fought intelligently and bravely with the iron determination that “the heart may stop beating but the road cannot be blocked”; “live clinging to the bridge, clinging to the road; die steadfastly and bravely”.

1,240 officers and soldiers bravely fought and sacrificed at Truong Bon; in which, the tragic sacrifice of 13 youth volunteers of Squad 2 - "Steel Squad" of Company 317, Team 65, Nghe An Youth Volunteers on October 31, 1968, right before the US imperialists stopped bombing the North at 0:00 on November 1, 1968, became immortal examples of patriotism and revolution.

56 years have passed, the Truong Bon song still resonates, an immortal anthem of youth in the struggle for national liberation. Blood, sweat and tears mingled in the sacred land of Truong Bon, contributing to the victory of the struggle to liberate the South and unify the country.

The war has long since ended, life has been revived right on the "fire coordinates" of the past. Truong Bon National Historical Site is a historical symbol of Nghe An Youth Volunteers, a gathering place of the sacred souls of 1,240 officers and soldiers of our army and people who bravely fought and sacrificed to protect the Truong Bon traffic artery - creating a legendary Truong Bon in the great national defense struggle of our people in the 20th century.

Every day this place is filled with the fragrant flowers of domestic and foreign tourists who come to visit and pay their respects to the brave men and women who "died for the Fatherland".

Through the Memorial Ceremony, we review the tradition of undaunted struggle, indomitable will, resilience and admirable bravery and sacrifice of the Soviet people of Nghe An.

“This is an opportunity for today's generation, especially the young generation, to reflect on themselves, vow to strive for the cause of building and protecting the Fatherland, and live a more worthy life with the great sacrifices of our brothers and sisters,” said Comrade Nguyen Thi Phuong Thuy - Secretary of the Provincial Youth Union.

In the sacred space, the Organizing Committee and delegates respectfully offered gifts, presented offerings, carried the martyrs' tablets, chanted Buddha's name to pray for protection, and observed a moment of silence to remember the heroes and martyrs who fell at the Truong Bon "fire coordinates".

“The Fatherland and the Vietnamese people, including monks, nuns, and Buddhists, will forever honor and remember the outstanding children of the central region of Nghe An,” Most Venerable Thich Tho Lac, Head of the Central Cultural Committee of the Vietnam Buddhist Sangha, and Permanent Deputy Head of the Executive Committee of the Vietnam Buddhist Sangha of Nghe An province, shared in his memorial speech. “Through concrete actions that benefit religion and life, monks, nuns, Buddhists, and all classes of people in Nghe An province will make every effort to contribute to the goal of a prosperous people, a strong country, and a fair, democratic, and civilized society.”

The memorial ceremony is a meaningful activity, demonstrating the Vietnamese people's morality of remembering the source of the water they drink and their gratitude to the heroic martyrs who heroically sacrificed their lives for the cause of fighting for independence and freedom.

Thanh Duy