Eighty years, how much love there was!
On the occasion of the 95th anniversary of the founding of the Party on February 3rd this year, two veteran Party members, both senior officials of the Nghe An Provincial Party Committee, were awarded the prestigious 80-year Party membership badge and both have reached the age of 100. These are comrades Nguyen Dinh Trien and Ngo Xuan Lan.
Ngo Duc Tien• March 26, 2025
On the occasion of the 95th anniversary of the founding of the Party on February 3rd this year, two veteran Party members, both senior officials of the Nghe An Provincial Party Committee, were awarded the prestigious 80-year Party membership badge. These are comrades Nguyen Dinh Trien and Ngo Xuan Lan.
Đồng chí Nguyễn Đình Triển sinh năm 1925, trong một gia đình nông dân nghèo ở làng Thượng Xá huyện Nghi Lộc, nay là xã Nghi Xá huyện Nghi Lộc. Được thừa hưởng truyền thống yêu nước và cách mạng của gia đình, có cha và anh là những chiến sỹ cách mạng hoạt động trong phong trào Xô viết Nghệ Tĩnh 1930/1931, nên Nguyễn Đình Triển đã sớm tham gia tổ chức Việt Minh bí mật trong những tháng đầu năm 1945, rồi tham gia tích cực vào cuộc khởi nghĩa giành chính quyền trong Cách mạng tháng Tám năm 1945. Ngay sau cách mạng tháng Tám, đồng chí tham gia các công tác kháng chiến từ xã lên huyện. Năm 1953, đồng chí được điều về làm giảng viên trường cán bộ tỉnh Nghệ An, tiền thân của Trường Đảng tỉnh Nghệ An sau này. Năm 1959, thực hiện chủ trương của Trung ương, Tỉnh ủy Nghệ An thành lập Ban nghiên cứu Lịch sử Đảng Tỉnh ủy, đồng chí được điều chuyển sang Ban Sử Đảng. Ngày đầu mới thành lập, ban mới chỉ có mấy cán bộ, do đồng chí Bí thư Tỉnh ủy Võ Thúc Đồng cựu tù chính trị Côn Đảo làm Trưởng ban kiêm nhiệm, đồng chí Phan Đình Đồng cũng là một cựu chiến sĩ Xô viết Nghệ Tĩnh làm phó ban, đồng chí Nguyễn Đình Triển làm Ủy viên ban và vài ba cán bộ giúp việc. Năm 1962 đồng chí Phan Đình Đồng nghỉ hưu, đồng chí Nguyễn Đình Triển làm Phó trưởng ban.
Trong những năm kháng chiến chống Mỹ cứu nước, cơ quan Tỉnh ủy sơ tán nhiều nơi, dưới sự lãnh đạo chỉ đạo của các đồng chí Bí thư Tỉnh ủy, đồng chí Nguyễn Đình Triển đã trực tiếp xây dựng Ban nghiên cứu Lịch sử Đảng vừa sưu tầm tư liệu vừa biên soạn xuất bản những tác phẩm ghi lại truyền thống đấu tranh cách mạng của Đảng bộ Nghệ An, nhất là những tấm gương của những người cộng sản tiền bối của Đảng cũng là những người con ưu tú của Nghệ An như Bác Hồ và các đồng chí Lê Hồng Phong, Phan Đăng Lưu, Nguyễn Thị Minh Khai... phục vụ cho công tác tuyên truyền của Đảng bộ.
Đầu năm 1976, hai tỉnh Nghệ An, Hà Tĩnh sáp nhập, đồng chí Nguyễn Đình Triển được cử làm Trưởng Ban Nghiên cứu Lịch sử Đảng Tỉnh ủy Nghệ Tĩnh. Từ năm 1976 đến năm 1988, với cương vị là Trưởng ban, tranh thủ sự lãnh đạo của Thường trực Tỉnh ủy, đồng chí Nguyễn Đình Triển đã xây dựng đào tạo đội ngũ chuyên viên cán bộ ban, đội ngũ này có lúc lên tới trên 20 người, trong đó có nhiều người trở thành những cán bộ quản lý, những cây bút chuyên sâu về đề tài lịch sử như Chu Trọng Huyến, Bùi Ngọc Tam, Trần Huy Tảo, Nguyễn Sỹ Đạm, Nguyễn Văn Đình, Ngô Đức Tiến... Các công trình lớn như Thời niên thiếu của Bác Hồ, Xô viết Nghệ Tĩnh, Lịch sử Đảng bộ Nghệ Tĩnh và Những người cộng sản trên quê hương Nghệ Tĩnh, và hàng trăm hồi ký của các đảng viên hoạt động trong thời kỳ hoạt động bí mật của Đảng 1930-1945. Tất cả các công trình ấy đều có dấu ấn của vị Trưởng ban say sưa sưu tầm, tổng kết, nghiên cứu, biên soạn. Có những đề tài chưa biên soạn thành sách, đồng chí cử cán bộ đến những kho lưu trữ lớn trong Nam, ngoài Bắc sưu tầm sao chép lưu giữ vào kho tư liệu của ban. Bản thân ông cũng trực tiếp ghi chép, nghiên cứu biên soạn.
With a basic knowledge of both Nôm script and Quốc ngữ (Vietnamese alphabet) acquired from his parents before the revolution, but with an extraordinary memory, he taught himself and researched independently, becoming a "living archive." Whenever anyone asks him about events or figures involved in the Party's founding movement (1925-1930) or the period from 1930-1945 in Nghệ Tĩnh, he can recount them in detail and with clarity. Since retiring in 1988, he has directly assisted the Nguyễn Đình clan in collecting and compiling the family genealogy of Cương Quốc Công Nguyễn Xí, of whom he is a descendant.
With his old bicycle, he cycled to the branches of the Nguyen Dinh clan, encompassing over 150 major sub-branches in Nghe An, Ha Tinh, Thanh Hoa, and other provinces. Connecting the lineage horizontally and vertically, he, along with Professor Nguyen Dinh Chu, journalist Nguyen Thanh Tien, and others, compiled the Nguyen Dinh clan genealogy, one of the most extensive and well-documented genealogies of a large clan with a glorious 600-year history. This work summarizes decades of historical research by the veteran comrade Nguyen Dinh Trien.
On the day he was honored with the title of Pre-Revolutionary Cadre, his devoted wife was present. However, by the time he was awarded the 80-year Party membership badge, she had passed away. He placed the badge and certificate of recognition respectfully next to her photograph, to commemorate the wife who helped him achieve these high honors bestowed by the Party.
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Like Comrade Nguyen Dinh Trien, Ngo Xuan Lan also came from a poor peasant family with a tradition of patriotism. In mid-1945, his uncle Ngo Xuan Ham, who had just been released from prison in Ban Me Thuot, contacted him and assigned him the task of writing leaflets, copying Viet Minh propaganda materials, and participating in the seizure of power in the locality. At the end of 1946, Ngo Xuan Lan was honored to be admitted to the Party and assigned to be the first Party cell leader in Vinh Tuy village.
In mid-1947, Yen Thanh district established the Le Doan Nha private high school. Ngo Xuan Lan enrolled and was assigned the responsibility of Head of the Youth Union (a position equivalent to the school's Youth Union Secretary). Throughout his three years of high school, Comrade Ngo Xuan Lan, along with the school's leadership, contributed to training intellectual youth to supplement the human resources for the resistance war against the French. In 1950, more than 50 teachers and students from Le Doan Nha school volunteered to join the army to reinforce the main army units. Due to his leg disability, Ngo Xuan Lan had to remain in the rear and was sent to study at a resistance teacher training course in Nghe An. After one year of study and graduating with honors, Ngo Xuan Lan was transferred back to work as a teacher at Le Doan Nha school.
In 1953, when Phan Chu Trinh High School relocated from Vinh and merged with Le Doan Nha High School, Ngo Xuan Lan was appointed Principal and concurrently Secretary of the Education Party Branch of Yen Thanh District. In 1961, Yen Thanh High School was established, and Ngo Xuan Lan was transferred to work as a teacher and was appointed the first Secretary of the Party Branch of Yen Thanh High School. In 1963, Yen Thanh High School was split into two schools, and Ngo Xuan Lan was transferred back to serve as the Party Branch Secretary, directly leading the school in building the teaching staff, developing infrastructure, and promoting excellent teaching and learning.
Here, he took the initiative to propose to the Party Branch and the Yen Thanh District Party Committee to cultivate and recruit outstanding 10th-grade students into the Party. In one year, the Yen Thanh 2 School Party Branch admitted 28 student Party members. Many of them later became successful officials such as Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs Nguyen Tam Chien, Colonel - Doctor Tran Quang Chau, Associate Professor Dr. Dao Khang, engineer Dao Quang Hoa, Colonel - Doctor Tran Ngoc Khai, Standing Committee member of the Provincial Party Committee - Head of the Inspection Committee Ho Thi Ha, Secretary of the Yen Thanh District Party Committee Pham Xuan Hoi...
From the initiative of the Party cell of Yen Thanh 2 High School, the movement to train graduating high school students for Party membership spread to other high schools in Nghe An. From 1968, teacher Ngo Xuan Lan was sent to study long-term at the Nguyen Ai Quoc School, and later to the Philosophy Postgraduate program at the Nguyen Ai Quoc Advanced Party School. After completing his studies, he was transferred to the Propaganda Department of Nghe An province and assigned to be the Head of the Propaganda Department. As the main speaker of the Provincial Party Committee, with his extensive knowledge, combining theory with practice, his innate talent, and his exceptional memory, Comrade Ngo Xuan Lan cycled to Party branches, schools, battlefields, and construction sites... to disseminate the policies of the Party and the State. Everywhere he went, he was warmly welcomed by the people. In the overall victory of the Party Committee and the people of Nghe An in the cause of fighting against the US and saving the country, the outstanding contribution of the Party's propaganda staff, of which Comrade Ngo Xuan Lan was an outstanding figure, was evident.
In 1976, the two provinces of Nghe An and Ha Tinh merged, and the Tran Phu Party School was established. Comrade Ngo Xuan Lan was transferred to become the Head of the Philosophy Department of the school. Here, he demonstrated his abilities in teaching, conducting scientific research, and summarizing practical experiences to write articles contributing to the Party building section of newspapers from local to national levels, such as the Nghe Tinh/Nghe An Newspaper and the Communist Magazine. In 1989, he retired but continued to work as a speaker for the Dong Vinh commune Party Committee and assisted the Provincial Party Committee's Propaganda Department in writing a book.50-Year History of the Propaganda Department of Nghe An ProvinceUntil early 2024, he regularly attended Party branch meetings, listened to the radio daily, read newspapers and books, and wrote down his thoughts in his notebook.
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Comrades Nguyen Dinh Trien and Ngo Xuan Lan, in the spring of the Year of the Snake (2015), have both been blessed with the auspicious age of 100 and have been awarded the 80-Year Party Membership Badge. Prior to this, both comrades were recognized as pre-revolutionary cadres and were awarded the First Class Resistance Medal against the French/American War. This is a rare achievement. These two veteran cadres, Nguyen Dinh Trien and Ngo Xuan Lan, are exemplary figures in studying and following the moral example of President Ho Chi Minh, and are a source of pride for the Party committees where they once worked and contributed, as well as for the Party committees of Nghi Loc and Yen Thanh districts – their hometowns.
