Morality and affection
To achieve the great victory of our nation in the resistance wars for national liberation as well as in the cause of building and defending the Fatherland, the blood of millions of Vietnamese people had to be shed, millions of people had to bear the injuries or cruel consequences of war for the rest of their lives.
Showing gratitude to those who sacrificed for independence, freedom, and the integrity of the Fatherland's sovereignty is morality, sentiment, and a precious cultural tradition of the Vietnamese people.
During nearly 80 years of rebuilding the country, millions of Vietnamese people had to fall under the rain of bombs and bullets, dedicating their youth and blood to the revolution, to the independence and freedom of the Fatherland, to the happiness of the people. Their blood has colored the national flag, forged the spiritual strength and the strong aspiration to rise of a nation that does not accept slavery or poverty.
Remembering and showing gratitude to those who sacrificed for the country and the people is an act that demonstrates the morality of "When drinking water, remember its source", a noble and sacred sentiment of the Vietnamese people. Right in the midst of the turmoil of the early years of the resistance war against French colonialism, on February 16, 1947, President Ho Chi Minh signed Decree No. 20/SL "Regulating pension, disability and death benefits for martyrs" - the first legal document affirming the important position of the work of war invalids and martyrs and the attention of the Party and State to war invalids, sick soldiers and martyrs' families.
The directive chose July 27 every year as War Invalids and Martyrs Day to"Our people show filial piety, charity, and love for wounded soldiers"!
Therefore, War Invalids and Martyrs Day (July 27) is an occasion for us to honor and express our infinite gratitude to the heroes, martyrs, comrades and compatriots who sacrificed their blood and bones for the beloved Vietnam Fatherland, for the glorious revolutionary cause of the Party and the nation. It is also an occasion to educate the nation's morality of "Remembering the person who planted the tree when eating the fruit", so that today's and future generations know that: A society cannot develop sustainably and healthily without being grateful to those who shed sweat and blood to build and protect it.
Over the past 78 years, fulfilling Uncle Ho's wishes, our Party and State have always paid attention to leading and directing the implementation of policies for war invalids, families of martyrs, and people with meritorious services to the revolution. The movement of "Repaying gratitude" has become a beautiful feature in the national cultural life, and has been developing widely with many diverse forms such as: giving houses of gratitude; gardens of gratitude; silk shirts for grandmothers; warm clothes for mothers; helping and caring for war invalids, seriously ill soldiers, elderly and lonely parents of martyrs; sponsoring children of martyrs; supporting Vietnamese heroic mothers...
The gratitude activities have brought into full play the collective strength of the community, contributing to stabilizing and improving the material and spiritual life of war invalids, martyrs' families and people with revolutionary contributions. Thanks to that, up to now, more than 98.6% of policy families have had a standard of living equal to or higher than the average standard of living of the local people where they reside.
"Repaying gratitude is not only a major policy of the Party and State but also a command from the heart, a political responsibility, and morality of the entire political system and society" - General Secretary To Lam affirmed at the meeting, honoring 250 delegates representing more than 9.2 million meritorious people nationwide on the morning of July 24. Among them are 1.2 million martyrs, more than 139,000 heroic Vietnamese mothers, more than 1,300 heroes of the armed forces, heroes of labor, nearly 800,000 wounded and sick soldiers... They are the immortal souls of the nation, the most beautiful symbols of Vietnamese revolutionary heroism.
During these days of July, many meaningful activities were held in all localities, expressing gratitude to millions of martyrs - the outstanding children who fought bravely and sacrificed themselves for the country. The young men and women in their late teens and early twenties put aside their dreams and ambitions to set out on their sacred mission, for the cause of building and protecting the Fatherland, for the peace and happiness of the people.
We are grateful to the many people who have remained forever in the bosom of our motherland; grateful to the wounded soldiers who left a part of their bodies on the battlefields from North to South; we share the hardships with the veterans who are struggling with the after-effects of war; with the wounds that ache day and night; with the weary eyes of those who look forward, anxiously wait for the relatives who have no information, do not know the graves of their children, siblings, wives, husbands, fathers, mothers...
More than 9.2 million meritorious people enjoy preferential regimes and policies. The material and spiritual life of meritorious people and their relatives has been improved, most of them have been given and supported with stable housing; More than 3,000 cemeteries and 4,000 works honoring martyrs across the country have been invested in construction and renovated, always being the place to return to for martyrs who sacrificed on all battlefields and performed international duties in Laos and Cambodia. Truong Son National Cemetery, Road 9 Martyrs Cemetery (Quang Tri), Vietnam-Laos International Martyrs Cemetery (Nghe An) every year always welcome many children who sacrificed on friendly land back to their homeland; The work of identifying martyrs still lacks information, especially with the support of DNA identification technology, has achieved initial positive results.
However, there are still 200,000 martyrs' remains that have not been collected, nearly 300,000 martyrs whose information has not been identified are the pain and anxiety of today's generation for their predecessors. With great responsibility and deep affection, our Party, State and people vow to continue doing meaningful and meaningful work, contributing to soothe the pain, wipe away tears, and ease the nostalgia; so that the material and spiritual life of those with meritorious services will become better and better.
Fresh flowers, fragrant incense sticks, and shimmering lights from cemeteries during the candlelight vigil are multiplying the sacred meaning of July - the peak month of gratitude activities, of the morality of "When drinking water, remember its source". For those who live in peace and happiness today to understand that the strong development of the country is the most practical and meaningful gratitude.
Because with millions of Vietnamese people who fought bravely and voluntarily laid down their lives for the country's peace, there is no greater aspiration than the aspiration for a free and independent Vietnam; for Vietnamese people to be happy and prosperous!