Historical mission, leading the country up-rising - Part 3

Part 1: Enlightment like the sun

Part 2: Opening up new horizons

Part 3: Bring the country together

The great achievements and invaluable historical lessons of the August Revolution in 1945 became the great driving force and strength for our entire Party, people and army to enter the 30-year long war against the French colonialists and the invading American imperialists, completing the cause of national liberation and national reunification. As for the Party Committee and people of Thu Dau Mot - Song Be - Binh Duong province, "All of us are as one, determined to overcome difficulties and hardships, with a heart of loyalty to the Party and the revolution, united in the struggle to reach the final victory."

People's power

On the bustling days of celebrating the New Year of the Snake 2025 and the 95th anniversary of the founding of the Communist Party of Vietnam, we had the opportunity to visit Mr. Nguyen Van Thanh (real name Nguyen Van Qui) in Vinh Tan Ward, Tan Uyen City. At 95, he has been in the CPV for 78 years and is still quite healthy, agile and especially remembers clearly the memories of the days when he first joined the CPV.

Welcoming us with the cheerful smile of a true Southerner, he said that he was from Phu My ward, Thu Dau Mot city, which used to be Phu Huu commune, Chau Thanh district. The year he was born was also the year the Party was founded (1930). He was born into a very poor family, and from a young age he followed his parents to work for a living. Like many people in poverty at that time, he was illiterate.

According to his recollections, in 1947, in the area of ​​Hamlet Nhi of Phu Huu, there was an enemy post - French colonialists stationed. Hamlet Nhi was also the place where revolutionary forces in the district and the war zone frequently went back and forth and were stationed. Seeing that he was diligent and agile, local cadres mobilized him to join the guard force and was assigned as deputy head of the commune's Guard Committee. His task was to monitor the daily activities of French soldiers around the post, then report back to local cadres to ensure the safety of the forces when they went back and forth and hid in the area. At that time, in Thu Dau Mot province, Party bases were also built relatively evenly to strengthen the comprehensive leadership of the provincial Party Committee over the resistance war in the province. Therefore, after a period of participating in the guard committee, seeing that he did his job well, the commune Party Cell decided to admit him into the CPV.

After 3 years of participating in local work, he officially joined the army. At that time, he was 20 years old. Although he was illiterate, he was very active and brave, completing all assigned tasks and completing them very well, especially the task of tracking and capturing commandos and spies. In 1954, he did not go to the regrouping but continued to stay in the area.

Through 9 years of resistance against the French colonialists, Thu Dau Mot province has achieved glorious achievements, contributing the efforts and blood of a hard-working and heroic province in the Southeast to the common victory of the South and the whole country. That achievement, that great contribution first of all belongs to the people and the heroic armed forces of Thu Dau Mot under the leadership and direction of the Party Committee and the provincial government, from Thu Dau Mot to Thu Bien. It is also the result of the leadership from the Party Committee and the government at higher levels, the pinnacle of intellectual genius being the Central Party Committee and the Government headed by President Ho Chi Minh.

Regarding the Dien Bien Phu victory, Mr. Nguyen Van Huu, former provincial military commander of Thu Dau Mot province, once said: “The resistance war against the French in the province left valuable experiences in conducting the war of national liberation in a locality with a small land area, a small population, and a poor and backward economy. That was the correct perception of the importance of the national solidarity front. From the early days of the resistance war, the Thu Dau Mot Provincial Party Committee gathered all social components in the local resistance ranks, from workers, farmers, petty bourgeoisie, intellectuals, national bourgeoisie, patriotic landlords, both religious and secular... Since then, the Party Committee has continuously carried out extensive political and ideological work, continuously mobilizing the masses' ideology, raising the awareness of national independence, patriotism, love for the nation, and fostering hatred for the invaders and traitors. In addition, the Provincial Party Committee has made great efforts to build, firmly grasp and train the armed and paramilitary forces from the province to the communes.”

In particular, Squad 1 was established at the end of 1945, was strengthened in quality, and soon became a unit of "President Ho Chi Minh's Army" that was loved, cared for, and supported by the people in spirit and material. Next, we built a Party Committee capable of leading departments, organizations, and localities in the province. From the beginning, the Provincial Party Committee focused on opening many basic political training courses for many cadres and soldiers to develop the Party, then continuously fostered through many forms and methods to build the Party Committee in terms of politics, ideology, organization, and moral qualities.

“Go with victory, stay with glory”

At the end of 1954, Thu Bien province was separated into Bien Hoa and Thu Dau Mot provinces. In mid-January 1955, Thu Dau Mot province held its first Executive Committee Conference since its re-establishment at Da Ban stream (War Zone D). Accordingly, the Provincial Party Committee set out the task at this time to reorganize the force into two secret and public parts; promote military propaganda work, arrange revolutionary bases in the puppet army and puppet government apparatus; build bases among the people, rely on the loyal revolutionary masses to dig secret tunnels to hide and operate. The slogan of the struggle at this time was to demand people's rights and democracy, combined with political struggle to demand consultation for general elections to unify the country.

Through the stories told by Mr. Nguyen Van Huu, former Provincial Team Leader of Thu Dau Mot Province at that time: "With the idea of ​​"Going to victory, staying glorious", the brothers who left and those who stayed told each other that those who left would fulfill their duties, those who stayed were determined to fight so that after 2 years they would meet each other on the day of North - South reunification, and the family would reunite".

After 21 years of heroic fighting, with the Party's independent, autonomous, correct, creative political and military lines and the Party's scientific and flexible art of war command; with the motto of the whole people fighting the Americans, the whole country fighting the Americans, "each citizen is a brave soldier to destroy the Americans"; with the support of the socialist North, the help of socialist countries and progressive humanity in the world..., our army and people defeated the war strategies of the US imperialists and the Saigon puppet regime. The historic Ho Chi Minh Campaign in the spring of 1975 completely liberated the South and reunified the country.

The victory of the resistance war against the US to save the country was the greatest achievement of the national liberation cause; ending a 30-year struggle, gaining complete independence for the Fatherland, ending the more than century-long domination of colonialism and imperialism in our country. That victory “will forever be recorded in our national history as one of the most brilliant pages, a shining symbol of the complete victory of revolutionary heroism and human intelligence and will go down in world history as a great feat of the 20th century.”

To be continued 

Reported by Thu Thao - Translated by Vi Bao