The marching song echoes forever

That marching song in the battlefield was a call to action, an aspiration to fight for national independence; now, it is like a command for Uncle Ho's soldiers to together light up the spirit of solidarity, join hands to build a new life of prosperity and happiness.

"Main striker" in patriotic emulation movements

In July, the Nam Anh Commune Memorial Park in Nam Dan District once again opens its doors to welcome the children of the homeland to come here to pay tribute and commemorate the heroes and martyrs who sacrificed their youth for the independence and freedom of the country.

In the grounds of that memorial, there is a special monument made from a single block of stone, marking the meaningful event on February 8, 1968. Here, the 27th Infantry Regiment was established and held a ceremony to send troops to fight in the Southern battlefield. Over 7 years of fighting, officers and soldiers of the 27th Infantry Regiment participated in 4 major campaigns: Mau Than Campaign 1968, Road 9 Campaign in Southern Laos 1971; Quang Tri Liberation Campaign 1972; Ho Chi Minh Campaign 1975. The unit fought 1,416 battles, destroyed and eliminated 28,454 enemies; shot down 799 military vehicles, 391 aircraft...

After those feats, the 27th Infantry Regiment was awarded by the State with 13 Military Exploit Medals, 1,023 Exploit Medals; 151 American-killing Brave Soldiers, Determined-to-Win Brave Soldiers and many other noble awards. It is a source of pride not only for local children, but also a red address for Nghe An people from all over to return to with deep gratitude.

In that sacred space, Mr. Nguyen Cong Thin - Vice Chairman of the Nam Dan District Veterans Association said that the local government of Nam Anh commune is always aware of the value of the memorial as well as the stele, so in the past year, there has been a policy to renovate it. However, due to limited funding, the locality has tried to mobilize social resources to complete the project.

In response to that policy, 462 families of veteran members of the commune, in addition to supporting 300 thousand VND each, many members also took the initiative to support an additional nearly 29 million VND to contribute to the construction. Although that is not a very large amount, what made the local Party Committee and government recognize it was the spirit of unity, always taking the lead in emulation movements in the place where they lived of those who used to wear the uniform of soldiers.

It is this spirit that has made the Nam Anh Commune Veterans Association one of the leading units of Nam Dan district, an important force contributing to helping Nam Anh reach the finish line of achieving the model new rural standard at the beginning of this year.

To further prove his assertion, Mr. Nguyen Cong Thin took us to Hamlet 3 of Nam Anh Commune - where the Commune Veterans Association was assigned to "take the lead" in building the model road. The special thing about Hamlet 3 is that the hamlet cadres have a solid position like a "three-legged tripod" when the Party Cell Secretary, Hamlet Chief, and Veterans Association Branch Chief are three exemplary veterans who are active in all local activities.

Do you remember the period in 2019, after the merger, the population of the hamlet increased to 376 households, with 1,476 people. The population is large, people are mainly farmers and small businesses, so at first the hamlet executive committee still faced many difficulties. However, during that time of many changes, the 3 veterans were always close, grasping the thoughts and aspirations to answer all questions of each person in the hamlet. And then, they were always the bridge between the people and the policies and resolutions from the Party Committee and the government. From completing the criteria for building infrastructure to implementing movements and campaigns, they were all highly supported and agreed by the people.

Thanks to that, the new rural construction movement of the hamlet is always at the forefront, in just 3 years from 2020 to 2023, the appearance of hamlet 3, Nam Anh commune has changed more and more, greener - cleaner - more beautiful. The whole hamlet has concreted many roads with a total length of 5.9km, in which the support of the people is called for over 1.4 billion VND, each person on average supports about 1 million VND.

In addition, people also spent their own money to install drainage ditch covers and build sports fields with a total value of about 160 million VND. In 2023, Hamlet 3, Nam Anh Commune was awarded a Certificate of Merit by the Provincial People's Committee for "Many outstanding achievements in building a commune that meets the model new rural standards in 2022, contributing to the implementation of the Nghe An movement to join hands to build new rural areas in the period of 2021-2025".

Forever the spirit of Uncle Ho's soldiers

“Never retreat before the enemy in battle, never surrender to poverty in peacetime”, that is what veterans still encourage each other when returning to normal life. Today, passing through Khe Diec area (Hamlet 5, Nam Anh commune), that spirit is clearly seen through the economic journey of veteran Nguyen Kim Tu (born in 1960).

Take us to the comprehensive farm of more than 1,700m2²of his family, the veteran in a simple green shirt said that this used to be an area of ​​ineffective rice cultivation in the locality. His house was nearly 1km away from this land, and every day he passed by here and saw the barren land, and he felt regretful. But where would he get the capital to invest? In the midst of that heavy anxiety, he was informed by the veteran - Secretary of the Party Cell of the hamlet Nguyen Kim Thanh (born in 1962) of the good news that: He would be lent 16 million VND by the association from the fund managed by the Veterans Association; at the same time, he could borrow 50 million VND from the capital of the Social Policy Bank entrusted to the Veterans Association to build the model.

That good news seemed to dispel all his worries, and in early 2021, he completed the loan procedures to renovate the pond area of ​​nearly 1,000m2.², releasing many fish species, around the garden planted 200 guava trees and clean vegetables and tubers. Along with raising poultry, he took advantage of opening a small restaurant on the area near the road of the farm. Thanks to that, in the past 3 years, the model has gradually brought a stable source of income. The former soldier has overcome poverty as desired. Having achieved that result, he still has gratitude for his comrades, especially his comrade, the Secretary of the hamlet Nguyen Kim Thanh.

“Mr. Nguyen Kim Thanh is a 4/4 war invalid with a 36% disability. When he was still fighting, he was a squad leader, and now in peacetime, he is the head of the hamlet party cell. Because of his character of being able to say and do, he was recognized as a typical example of skillful mass mobilization in Nam Dan district, and also achieved the title of “Excellent Party Cell Secretary” in 2022,” Mr. Nguyen Kim Tu could not hide his pride when sharing about his comrade.

And there are many other veterans who were helped by their comrades, such as Nguyen Hoang Loi (born in 1943), whose family unfortunately had a fire in 2019. His comrades stood up to mobilize and raise 26 million VND to fix the problem. They were also the ones who were on hand to help his family restore their house and property during difficult times. Or veteran Ho Viet Tu (born in 1961), who unfortunately had a stroke in 2021, was also wholeheartedly helped by his comrades.

The stories imbued with humanity and solidarity of the veterans left us with many lingering emotions when saying goodbye to the land of Nam Anh. Mr. Dinh Xuan Minh - Chairman of the Veterans Association of Nam Dan district, said that being born in Uncle Ho's hometown - two sacred words in the minds of the people of Nghe An is always a source of pride, a reminder for Uncle Ho's soldiers of the past. So that in the midst of the battle, they fought with all their might, and in peacetime, they became a bond of solidarity contributing to building the homeland.

Now, in Nam Dan district, the veteran force is playing a core role when 61 comrades were elected by members as Party Cell Secretaries and Deputy Secretaries; 57 comrades are hamlet chiefs and 68 comrades are Heads of the hamlet Fatherland Front Committee. They are like “tireless birds” to live a useful life and contribute their best to society until their old age. Then, they themselves do not feel ashamed of the title “Uncle Ho’s Soldier”.