Light the fire of gratitude

Smashold arguments

As the country's major holidays approach, especially April 30th every year, on many social networking sites and multimedia of overseas Vietnamese, there appear many articles and video clips with a bitter, spiteful, and extreme tone denying the values ​​of truth anddistort the meaning of the resistance war against America,to save our nation. It is really funny when they throw out many questions and debate questions like "The Vietnam War was a proxy war, an ideological war", that "Is it necessary to go through war to gain independence? If only we could find another less bloody way for our country's independence, how precious that would be?"...

The essence of these arguments is that they want to deny the nature, justice and achievements of the resistance war against the US to save the country, insult the honor of the nation, the conscience of the times and justify the crimes that the US imperialists and their henchmen have committed against our people.

Taking advantage of social networks, exiled reactionaries organize livestreams to distort and defame the achievements of the Vietnamese revolution.

The reality of 30 years of revolutionary war from 1945 to 1975 and 21 years of resistance war against the US to save the country affirms: the US intervention war is essentially a continuation of the French colonial invasion war, carried out by the US and the Saigon government, and is absolutely not a "civil war" or an "ideological" war.

The history of the Vietnamese people is a history of thousands of years of building and defending the country. To have the shape and beauty of Vietnam today, many generations of Vietnamese people had to face many wars of invasion and foreign domination, sacrificing blood and property to gain and protect national independence. More than anyone else, the Vietnamese people always understand the price of peace and always cherish peace. But when the country is invaded, the mountains and rivers are trampled, the Fatherland is divided, the Vietnamese people do not accept slavery, must stand up to fight, drive out the enemy as the lyrics of a song say "My life likes roses, the enemy forces me to hold guns".

The resistance war against the US to save the country from 1954 to 1975 was not a “civil war”, that is, a war between two factions within a country without foreign intervention or presence. In fact, this was a resistance war of the Vietnamese people against the invasion of the US imperialists and their lackeys. Although the US wanted to “civilize” this war with the strategy of “Vietnamization of the war”, in essence “using war to feed war, using Vietnamese to fight Vietnamese”, it was unsuccessful.

Since 1965, the US began to escalate the war in Vietnam. In the photo, an American helicopter is flying over Tay Ninh, firing into the forest ahead to clear the way for the infantry behind to prepare to enter a sweep to hunt down the Liberation Army. Documentary photo

The resistance war against the US to save the country was not a "proxy war" because it was only one-sided: the US imperialists authorized the Saigon government to be the "anti-communist outpost" for the US in Southeast Asia. The Vietnamese people resisted the US imperialists to gain national independence and unify the country in the spirit of self-reliance, with the support and assistance of international friends, but there was absolutely no "mission of tasks" from outside, and no "attached" tasks were carried out here.

Always keep the fire of gratitude burning.

At 11:30 a.m. on April 30, 1975, the revolutionary flag flew on the roof of the Independence Palace, signaling the successful end of the 21-year resistance war against the US, liberating the South and unifying the country. However, to achieve the event of that historic April 30 was not a simple or easy thing at all. The Vietnamese people had to go through a journey of more than 20 arduous, heroic and resilient years to fight for national independence and unification.

After the Geneva Agreement was signed, restoring peace in Indochina, Vietnam was divided by a temporary border at the 17th parallel, at Hien Luong Bridge over the Ben Hai River (Vinh Thanh Commune, Vinh Linh District, Quang Tri). Photo: LIFE

The 17th parallel of Ben Hai River and Hien Luong Bridge of Quang Tri Province have become a place that has been out of sight and out of mind, dividing the country into two parts for a long 20 years. When the unification of the country could not be carried out by a General Election as stipulated by the 1954 Geneva Agreement due to the plots and tricks of the US imperialists and their lackeys, the Vietnamese people had only one choice: to carry out the unification.war of national liberationto drive out neocolonialism, liberate the South, and unify the country.

The aspiration for national reunification is a legitimate aspiration, a sacred demand of the nation and to realize that aspiration, the army and people of the North and South have carried out the ideal "Nothing is more precious than independence and freedom".

The North both built socialism and fulfilled its role as a great rear base for the great frontline of the South, while sharing the burden with the South to fight against two destructive wars by the US air force and navy.

Northern youth enthusiastically went to the South to fight. Photo: Document

Mothers took turns sending their children off to join the army to "share the Truong Son mountain range to save the country" and then "three times saw their children off, twice cried silently". The Vietnamese Heroic Mothers have carved immortal monuments in the hearts of the nation such as Mother Nguyen Thi Thu, Mother Van Thi Thua in Quang Nam, Mother Le Thi He, Mother Tran Thi Mit in Quang Tri, Mother Nguyen Thi Ranh in Cu Chi, Mother Le Thi Tu in Binh Duong, Mother Pham Thi Ngu in Binh Thuan, Mother Le Thi Soi in Thanh Hoa... The mothers not only sacrificed their youth for the country but also lost their beloved husbands, children, and grandchildren for the cause of national liberation. How noble and great those women were, but also how painful and pitiful.

The war has placed on the shoulders of these gentle women that great but also extremely painful title. Their sacrifice is worthy of all Vietnamese people calling them by the most sacred word: Mother. Those heroic Vietnamese Mothers deserve to have statues erected by the people and they will always be an unyielding monument in the hearts of the Vietnamese people.

Mother Thu Monument - one of the eternal symbols of the strength of the Vietnamese people. Photo: Document

Then, following the call of the Fatherland, tens of thousands of young volunteers and frontline laborers rushed into the fire and bullets to open the road, fill bomb craters to create the legendary Truong Son road, creating the immortal heroic songs of Ham Rong bridge, Hoang Mai bridge, Cam bridge, Hoa Tien cave, Truong Bon, Dong Loc 3-way intersection, Tam Co cave, Ben Thuy ferry, Gianh ferry, Xuan Son ferry, Trong Dai ferry, Road 20 Quyet Thang, Road 9 Hero...

The young women volunteers, frontline workers of the spirit of "Three ready", "Five volunteer" were always ready to volunteer and volunteer to go to the call of the country, dedicating their youth, volunteering to the most difficult places, the most fiercely attacked key points such as Le Thi Tuyen with Ham Rong bridge - Thanh Hoa, 12 Truong Bon girls, 10 TNXP girls at Dong Loc crossroads... They steadfastly leveled mountains, opened roads, filled bomb craters and bravely sacrificed their lives buried by enemy bombs, creating immortal heroic songs. They devoted their youth to the Fatherland to write on the legendary Truong Son road. Thousands of female Truong Son soldiers who lay down their lives in the great Truong Son have contributed to shining the tradition of "Heroic, indomitable, loyal, and courageous" of Vietnamese women.

Tourists listen to a presentation about Truong Bon Historical Site and the heroic sacrifice of 13 martyrs. Photo: Lam Tung

During the resistance war against the US to save the country, the Central Highlands was one of the fiercest battlefields, where both our side and the enemy deployed the most elite forces. The fierceness of bullets and bombs, hunger and cold always followed, not enough rice and salt to eat, not enough medicine for illness and jungle fever tormented in extremely difficult and arduous conditions. To serve the fight and fight, the Pa Co, Van Kieu, Ba Na, Ja Rai, E De ethnic groups... along the western side of the Truong Son mountain range, the Central Highlands, and the Southeast took care of, sheltered, and protected cadres, saved every grain of rice, potato, corn, crossed hills, waded streams to carry food and ammunition for the troops.

The victory of April 30, 48 years ago, was a common victory of the entire nation, of national solidarity, of the love between the army and the people, of the rear and the front, including the immense contributions of the ethnic minorities of the majestic Central Highlands.

The people of the Central Highlands and soldiers pulled artillery to capture the heights in Pleiku during the Central Highlands campaign, opening the General Offensive and Uprising in the Spring of 1975. Photo: Document

Remember April 30, the younger generation who do not know the smell of bombs and bullets, the citizens who are lucky enough to be born after the war, we are enjoying the fruits of national independence and a unified country. Please never forget everything that our people have been through, everything that our army and people have fought hard for and heroically sacrificed for the aspiration of national unification.

On the journey to the South on Highway 1A, we must pass Hien Luong Bridge over the Ben Hai River flowing into Cua Tung Beach. Let's stop and observe what is at this relic, to understand why it is a National Special Monument. Be silent and ponder why Hien Luong Bridge and Ben Hai River are historical witnesses bearing the pain of dividing the country for 20 long years, why it has become a symbol of the aspiration for national reunification. During that 20-year journey to the final victory, for the aspiration for national reunification of an entire nation, the Vietnamese people have carved into history historical milestones. From the "Dong Khoi" movement (1959-1960) to the victory of Ap Bac (January 1963), from the victory of Nui Thanh, Van Tuong (August 1965) to the General Offensive and Uprising in the Spring of Mau Than 1968, from the strategic offensive in the Spring - Summer of 1972 to the General Offensive and Uprising in the Spring of 1975 with the peak ofHo Chi Minh campaigntotal victory. All have dialectical, causal relationships.

Liberation Army tanks captured the Presidential Palace of the puppet government in Saigon. Photo: Tran Mai Huong/VNA

And to have the image of the revolutionary flag planted on the roof of the Independence Palace at 11:30 on April 30, 1975 was the result of countless drops of sweat, effort, wealth, blood and bones, the lives of the Vietnamese army and people fighting and serving the fight for national independence. The consequences of that war to unify the country were thousands of martyrs' cemeteries, millions of people infected with Agent Orange, hundreds of thousands of women who lost their husbands and children. Many revolutionary soldiers were captured by the enemy, tortured, imprisoned, and killed in prisons, from Chin Ham Prison (Hue) to Lao Bao Prison, Buon Ma Thuot Prison, Kon Tum Prison, Chi Hoa Prison, from Phu Quoc Prison to Con Dao Prison...

The war has gradually receded, but there are still tens of thousands of soldiers still hidden somewhere on the hills, at the bottom of rivers, streams, in the old forests to the sea of ​​Truong Sa, Hoang Sa. It is very sad that in many martyrs' cemeteries across the country, there are still many graves that are only engraved on the stele "Unknown martyrs". Those born after that war, when visiting the National Martyrs' Cemetery of Route 9, the National Martyrs' Cemetery of Truong Son, will clearly understand how expensive the price of peace is. The larger the cemetery, the more pain. To remind future generations, we must understand the phrase "The flag printed with the blood of victory carries the soul of the country" in the National Anthem, to explain why April 30 is a national holiday and we all have a day off.

The National Martyrs' Cemetery on Road 9 in Dong Ha City, Quang Tri Province is the resting place of more than 10,800 martyrs. Photo: Thanh Duy

Rest to remember, to show gratitude to the generations of our ancestors who died for the independence of the nation. Rest to understand the price of the peace we are enjoying. Rest to cherish the past, so that we will never be ungrateful to history. Rest to learn about the origins of victory, to understand the profound and sacred meaning of April 30th.

On April 30, I bow my head before the wooden crutch, the tombstone and look up at the sacred national flag to sing "The Vietnamese army marches..."