Uncle Ho's thoughts on youth volunteers

(Baonghean.vn) - On July 15, 1950, following the direction of Uncle Ho, at Hong Mountain, Dai Tu District, Thai Nguyen Province, the Central Youth Volunteer Team (the predecessor of the Youth Volunteer Force) was established. This decision created a favorable environment for generations of young people to demonstrate their patriotism, train their spirit of enduring hardships and difficulties, bravely fight, sacrifice, contribute, be creative, and excellently complete assigned tasks.

It can be said that over time, the historical role and political position of the Vietnam Veterans Association has been affirmed and increasingly promoted in the Party and society. That stems from President Ho Chi Minh's thoughts on the young generation of Vietnam in general and on the Youth Volunteers organization in particular.

Ho Chi Minh's ideology was formed from absorbing the quintessence of humanity, combined with the quintessence of the nation. Before establishing the Vietnam Youth Volunteers, Uncle Ho also consulted and learned from the experiences of the Soviet Union's communist youth movement's shock activities in mobilizing youth forces on communist Saturdays to solve urgent and urgent tasks, and then disbanded after completing the work. The results of these activities were very suitable for the youth.

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)

From that experience, in early 1950, in response to the need to serve the revolution, Uncle Ho advocated the establishment of a centralized Youth Volunteer Team, assigned to the Central Youth Union for National Salvation. He said: "The more the resistance progresses, the more work there is, we need to consolidate and develop the Youth Volunteer Team to ensure more resistance work and train cadres in the future."

On March 20, 1951, in Na Cu, Bach Thong district, Bac Can province, 10 months after the establishment of the Youth Volunteer Force, Uncle Ho visited the Youth Volunteer Force Unit 312 on duty at Na Cu bridge. Here, Uncle Ho read four famous verses to the Vietnamese Youth Volunteer Force: "Nothing is difficult/Only fear of not being steadfast/Digging mountains and filling seas/With determination, it will be done".

Those four verses of Uncle Ho's poem have become a political orientation and method of education and training for the youth volunteer force and for the entire young generation of Vietnam.

Regarding the mission of the Youth Volunteers organization, Uncle Ho also pointed out: "The mission of the Youth Volunteers Team is to volunteer for everything, no matter how difficult or easy, and serve until the day the resistance war is successful. That is the glorious mission of our Youth Volunteers." On the other hand, Uncle Ho also pointed out that the Youth Volunteers Team is a "Great and good school."

Uncle Ho taught: “Soldiers and cadres are trained in good qualities such as: determination, courage, steadfastness, not afraid of difficulties, not afraid of hardships, are nurtured in organizational and disciplined qualities by the masses' frank criticism, so that cadres can wash away bad qualities such as: bureaucracy, commandism, embezzlement, waste. In that school, words speak and hands act, theory is closely linked to practice. It makes cadres' thoughts clearer, their stance more solid, their working style more democratic. Those schools both train and test cadres..."

Uncle Ho's teachings were profound, sincere but also straightforward and specific, helping tens of thousands of cadres and members of generations of Youth Volunteers to mature and now be present in all fields of work, at all levels and in all sectors of the country.

Following Uncle Ho's teachings, during the resistance war against French colonialism, the peak of which was the historic Dien Bien Phu campaign, hundreds of thousands of young people from Viet Bac, Tay Bac, Zone Three, Zone Four and even Lien Khu Five and the South eagerly set out to join the army, join the Youth Volunteer Force and overcame countless difficulties, hardships, all fierceness and dangers with the determination: "If you are determined, you will succeed", contributing with the entire army and people to establish a feat that "resounded throughout the five continents, shook the world" and completely defeated the old colonialism of French imperialism.

During the resistance war against the US, to save the country from the great rear in the North to the great front line in the South, from the liberated areas, the resistance bases to the cities, deep in the enemy's lairs, everywhere echoed the song of following Uncle Ho's words: "Nothing is difficult/ Only fear that the heart is not steadfast/ Digging mountains and filling seas/ With determination, it will be done" to turn into the revolutionary climax of "Three readiness", "Five volunteering". Ready to go anywhere, do anything according to the requirements of the revolution; wherever the Party needed young people to be present, wherever there were enemies, young people volunteered, contributing with the entire Party, the entire army, the entire people to create the glorious feat of the historic Spring of 1975, defeating the neo-colonialism of the US imperialists, completely liberating the South, and reunifying the Fatherland.

On January 27, 1969, Uncle Ho sent a flower basket and a letter of praise to the Youth Volunteer Unit 333 for its many outstanding achievements on the fierce routes of Zone 4: "You are worthy of being the elite youth of the heroic Vietnamese people. And, the American invaders have suffered heavy losses in both parts of our country, they are losing more and more heavily in the South, but they are still very stubborn and have not given up their plot to invade our country. Therefore, Uncle Ho reminds you: We must uphold our fighting spirit, revolutionary vigilance, and together with our army and people, be determined to completely defeat the American invaders; always unite, strive to study politics, techniques, and culture to progress more and more, and devote all the enthusiasm and talent of youth to the cause of fighting against the Americans and saving the country."

This is the letter, the last advice from Uncle Ho to the Youth Volunteers before he passed away. Uncle Ho's love is forever engraved in the hearts of all patriotic Vietnamese people, and has been and will forever be a great motivation for generations of youth in general and Youth Volunteers in particular.

After the complete liberation of the South, the country was reunited and after 20 years of national renovation under the leadership of the Party, following Uncle Ho's teachings, 350,000 former Youth Volunteers of the resistance war have been gathering into the organization of the Veterans' Association of Youth Volunteers, with political and social nature, a member of the Vietnam Fatherland Front, raising a new spiritual strength, aiming to promote the tradition of steadfastness, courage, intelligence, and creativity in the resistance war to save the country into emulation actions to serve the cause of national construction. The Vietnam Veterans' Association was established and is being developed in many provinces, cities, districts, communes, and wards across the country, with many rich and practical activities imbued with comradeship, helping each other overcome poverty, supporting each other to strive to become rich legitimately.

Youth volunteers carrying ammunition during the resistance war against America - Photo: Document

Some local chapters of the Association were established in close coordination with the Youth Union and the Veterans Association, quickly becoming a trusted political-mass organization of the Party and the government, propagating and educating the people to believe in and comply with the Party's guidelines and policies, the State's policies and laws, and voluntarily participating in the struggle to protect political security and social order and safety at the grassroots level. Hundreds of thousands of former Youth Volunteers have overcome difficulties, risen up, and set a shining example in their lives to serve the cause of educating the traditions and revolutionary ideals of the Youth Union, the Party, and Uncle Ho for today's and tomorrow's young generations.

In recognition of their proud achievements and great contributions, the Vietnamese Youth Volunteer Force has been awarded by the Party and State with noble awards and titles: First-class Independence Medal (1978), Ho Chi Minh Medal (1997), and the title of Hero of the People's Armed Forces (1997); 53 collectives were awarded the title of Hero (36 collectives of Hero of the People's Armed Forces, 17 collectives of Hero of Labor); over 100 individuals were awarded or posthumously awarded the titles of Hero of the People's Armed Forces and Hero of Labor...

Truong Bon Youth Volunteers fill bomb craters - 1968.

After 66 years of construction and growth, the Youth Volunteer Force has continuously developed and highly promoted revolutionary heroism, contributing efforts, intelligence, blood and youth to join the entire army and people in establishing glorious feats. And Uncle Ho's teachings for the Youth Volunteer Force have surpassed all, turning into Vietnamese revolutionary heroism during the resistance war into a great source of strength for the young generation today and tomorrow to constantly strive to rise up.

Currently, the Youth Volunteer Force continues to play an active role in the cause of building and defending the Fatherland. In particular, promoting the heroic tradition of generations of youth volunteers, after the reunification of the Fatherland, generations of youth volunteers - Youth volunteers enthusiastically set out, present on the front lines of hardship, desolation, and destruction caused by war, in especially difficult areas, implementing socio-economic programs to establish themselves and bring the light of culture to remote areas, ethnic minorities; at the same time, associated with the task of defending the Fatherland, ready to sacrifice, contribute, and contribute to firmly protecting the territorial integrity, borders, and islands of the Fatherland in the new situation.

Peace(Synthetic)