Forever the tradition of youth volunteers

(Baonghean.vn) - Over the past half century, the Vietnam Youth Volunteer Force has been a shining symbol of revolutionary heroism and patriotism among young people. Not only are our Party and people extremely proud, but progressive youth all over the world are also filled with admiration.

67 years ago, on July 15, 1950, following Uncle Ho's direction, at Hong Mountain, Dai Tu district, Thai Nguyen province, the Central Youth Volunteer Team (the predecessor of the Vietnam Youth Volunteer Force) was established.

President Ho Chi Minh had a friendly talk with Youth Volunteers delegates attending the Youth Volunteers Congress to fight against the US and save the country in the North in January 1967. (Source: VNA)

That historic decision created a favorable environment for generations of young people to demonstrate patriotism, train their spirit of enduring hardships and difficulties, bravely fighting, sacrificing, contributing, being creative, and excellently completing assigned tasks.

The first Youth Volunteer Team consisted of 225 officers and soldiers, led by Comrade Vuong Bich Vuong, member of the Central Committee of the Youth Union. Just 2 months after its establishment, in early September 1950, the Central Youth Volunteer Team received orders to serve the Border Campaign. The Youth Volunteer Team bravely overcame bullets and fire, serving the troops to completely destroy the Dong Khe stronghold, killing 300 enemies, opening the victory of the Border Campaign (1950-1952).

The youth volunteers have become legendary. Photo: Archive

The Central Youth Volunteer Team was honored to receive a letter of commendation from Uncle Ho and a special event was on March 20, 1951, on the way to inspect the campaign, Uncle Ho visited Youth Volunteer Unit 312 on duty in the Na Cu bridge forest, Bac Kan.

Uncle Ho read four historical verses to the Youth Volunteers: “Nothing is difficult, only fear that the heart is not steadfast, digging mountains and filling seas, determination will make it happen”. Uncle Ho's four verses have become the ideological orientation, education, and training of willpower for the Youth Volunteers and for the entire young generation of Vietnam.

Since that day, the Youth Volunteer Force has continuously developed and promoted revolutionary heroism to the highest degree, contributing efforts, intelligence, blood and dedicating all of its youth to join the entire army and people in making glorious achievements.

Youth Volunteers marching into Truong Son Photo: Document

That was the "famous Dien Bien Phu victory that shook the world" that defeated the old French colonialism; the "Three Readies" movement of the Northern youth determined to defeat the destructive war by the US imperialists' air force and navy; and the "Five Volunteers" movement of the Southern youth, determined to "Split the Truong Son range to save the country".

All of these contributed to the "Great Victory of Spring 1975" defeating the neo-colonialism of the US imperialists, completing the resistance war, saving the country, completely liberating the South, and reunifying the country.

In most major campaigns against invaders, from the Border Campaign of 1950 to the great victory of the Ho Chi Minh Campaign in the Spring of 1975, wherever and whenever, the Youth Volunteers contributed their efforts, intelligence, blood and bones and also had heroic actions contributing to the great victory of the nation.

Youth volunteer forces unload goods and ammunition for combat. Photo: Archive

Of the total 500,000 youth volunteers across the country, 46,000 comrades were injured, over 10,000 comrades were infected with toxic chemicals, and 10,000 comrades heroically sacrificed themselves, "transforming into the red of the national flag and the peaceful blue of the Vietnamese land and sky".

Not only contributing their efforts, intelligence, blood and bones and dedicating their entire youth to the two long-term resistance wars of the nation, over 40,000 Youth Volunteers were present in the most difficult and arduous places, working selflessly in the work of healing the wounds of war, restoring and developing the economy and competing to voluntarily exceed the plan in labor production, work and study, together with the youth of the whole country to build hundreds of socio-economic works such as: Hanoi-Lao Cai railway project, Hanoi-Vinh, 426 Northwest traffic project, Thai Nguyen Iron and Steel Complex, Thac Ba Hydropower Plant, Tinh Tuc Cao Bang Tin Mine, Hanoi Mechanical Factory...

Youth Volunteers continued to open strategic roads after the Dien Bien Phu Campaign. Photo: Archive

And, also on that journey, the Youth Volunteer Force has made remarkable progress in its revolutionary qualities of being “both red and expert” according to Uncle Ho’s ideology of “Great Youth Volunteer School”. The image of the youth volunteers has become a beautiful symbol of revolutionary heroism, entering poetry, history books and the minds of the entire people.

Continuing the heroic tradition of generations of Youth Volunteers, today the Ho Chi Minh Communist Youth Union has been applying Uncle Ho's ideology on the great Youth Volunteer School in new conditions, with appropriate content and form, attracting millions of young men and women to participate in Youth Volunteers' teams and companies.

Truong Bon Youth Volunteers filling bomb craters in 1968. Photo courtesy

67 years - a journey of more than half a century full of hardships, difficulties, challenges but also full of glory, honor and pride. The history of the Vietnamese Youth Volunteers is a golden history book showing the remarkable maturity and great dedication of generations of Youth Volunteers in the resistance war for national independence, national reunification and national construction.

Peace

(Synthetic)