But that cultural environment is being “smeared” and “distorted” by those who misrepresent the concept of “soldier”. They call themselves “Soldier-lovers” but wear the uniforms of puppet soldiers before 1975, making many people who first hear about them think that they are soldiers of the Vietnam People’s Army. 80 years ago, General Secretary Truong Chinh pointed out that this behavior was a “cultural invasion”.

Cultural invasion from the so-called “love soldier”

I am a soldier, a true soldier, because I myself spent 7 years as a soldier in the General Department of Politics of the Vietnam People's Army. I left the green uniform of Uncle Ho's Army nearly 15 years ago, but in me, the soldier's spirit has never faded, it has even been deeply ingrained in my soul, becoming my personality for a long time. That's why, even the way I dress and move around today, such as wearing clothes, wearing a soft hat, a motorbike helmet, or using a motorbike or car, are all green, green, olive green, typical of Uncle Ho's soldiers.

That is why, for a long time now, when I see on social networks or see real images on the street, I am very allergic to them, feeling that they are full of "love for soldiers" but wearing the uniforms of puppet soldiers before 1975, the uniforms of American soldiers, walking proudly on the peaceful streets of Vietnam, then "showing off their power" in historical revolutionary sites, memorials for heroes and martyrs.

Therefore, looking at this phenomenon and reading the 5th point out of 6 points outlined in the Outline of Vietnamese culture of the Party drafted by General Secretary Truong Chinh in 1943; looking at the direction of Lieutenant General Trinh Van Quyet, member of the Party Central Committee, Deputy Director of the General Department of Politics of the Vietnam People's Army at the Conference summarizing 30 years of implementing Directive No. 143/CT dated May 12, 1992 of the General Department of Politics of the Vietnam People's Army on conducting the campaign to build a good, healthy, and rich cultural environment in Army units associated with the movement "All people unite to build a cultural life" and the 2-year review of the implementation of the Planning of the cultural institution system in the Vietnam People's Army, it is clear that the behavior of associations and groups in the name of "loving soldiers" in the cyberspace environment and in real life today is a form of "cultural invasion".

So, what is the manifestation of the cultural invasion of the so-called “love of soldier clothes”? That is, on the Internet, there are many representative images of Youtube and Facebook accounts or accounts selling costumes in the name of “love of soldier clothes” with all kinds of styles, sizes, and colors of the US and Republic of Vietnam military branches before 1975. From posting widespread fashion of Republic of Vietnam soldier clothes on the Internet, they appear in real life as Republic of Vietnam soldier clothes with camouflage shirts, trench coats, green berets, red berets, sunglasses, sitting on old jeeps in long lines, parading on the streets as if to “show off their power” and “show off their prestige”. They also took every opportunity to infiltrate events, cultural activities, bustling places, with the presence of many social components such as fashion shows: Cua Lo Sea Chrysanthemum Ao Dai Festival on March 11, 2023, causing outrage in public opinion.

Worse and more arrogant, they also dressed up as puppet soldiers and American soldiers to places that reminded them of the loss and casualties of Uncle Ho's soldiers, such as: the Citadel Relic, Khe Sanh (Quang Tri); Vi Xuyen National Martyrs Cemetery (Ha Giang); Memorial Site for 60 Youth Volunteers, Company 915 Bac Thai (Thai Nguyen)...

The foreign and offensive fashion of the association and group in the name of "Love soldiers" shows "cultural invasion" and brazenly enters the Memorial of the 915th Company of Bac Thai Youth Volunteers in Gia Sang Ward, Thai Nguyen City (Image cut from a clip on the Youtube channel "Quyen ba tai - Nhac linh" on social networks).

Their vicious, hateful, and destructive “fox” nature is clearly revealed in their “sheep” guise when they come to these places, not wearing civilian clothes with gratitude and a respectful attitude towards the souls of heroic martyrs who sacrificed for the Fatherland, for the peace and happiness of the people, but they wear full puppet soldier uniforms, wearing green berets, red berets, sunglasses, hands on hips, walking around with a sneering face, an arrogant, domineering, and imposing attitude. That situation causes absurdity, disgust, and resentment to the whole society, especially to the relatives of heroic martyrs. The “sheep” behavior of visiting heroic martyrs cannot hide the “fox” nature, evoking the pain and loss of our Army and people in the resistance wars against foreign invaders, protecting the Fatherland. That action is “cultural invasion”.

Fiercely fight against cultural invasion

As Vietnamese citizens who love many national cultural identities, we will forever remember the event on July 18, 1948, when, in presenting a report entitled “Marxism and Vietnamese Culture” at the Second National Cultural Conference in the Viet Bac resistance base, General Secretary Truong Chinh systematized, concretized and developed the viewpoints, principles and mottos of the 1943 Outline on Vietnamese Culture, which has value as the Party's cultural platform.

In the report, comrade Truong Chinh pointed out 6 main tasks of culture. In the 5th point, he emphasized the "national character" in culture and proposed: Developing the good in national culture, at the same time eliminating the bad and corrupt, preventing the penetration of colonial and reactionary cultural remnants, learning the good and good things of world culture.

The Party's 1943 outline on Vietnamese culture drafted by General Secretary Truong Chinh was the foundation that clearly stated the need to fight against foreign and offensive "cultural invasion".


Inheriting that source, on March 3, 2023, at the Conference of the General Department of Politics of the Vietnam People's Army, Lieutenant General Trinh Van Quyet, Deputy Director of the General Department of Politics of the Vietnam People's Army, gave a speech: "With the motto "building to fight", by many creative forms and measures, agencies and units have proactively and resolutely fought against wrong views and ideologies, prevented and repelled social evils, negative and toxic manifestations from infiltrating agencies and units, and have the strength to resist the plots and tricks of "peaceful evolution" in the fields of ideology and culture, especially the plots of "self-evolution", "self-transformation", "depoliticization" of the Army by hostile forces.

Memorial places remember and mark the countless contributions and sacrifices of the nation's outstanding sons, the heroic martyrs in the "green military uniform" who lived and dedicated their lives "as beautiful as roses, harder than steel", fighting for every inch of the Fatherland, for the peace and happiness of the people, ready to sacrifice themselves, but still believing in the day of victory, the day of return.

However, ironically! It is these uniforms in the name of “loving soldiers” that are the culprits of the massacre, taking away the lives, beliefs, dreams, aspirations for peace and the day of reunion with relatives and families of Uncle Ho’s soldiers. Inheriting and promoting the noble humanitarian spirit of the Vietnamese people: “Fight those who run away, not those who run back”, even Nguyen Trai in the past, defeated the Ming invaders but still provided boats and horses for the enemy to return to their homeland, so today, our Party and State also extend tolerance to those who were previously on the other side of the battle line, returning, contributing to the cause of building the country, visiting any place in the Fatherland of Vietnam. But those must be people with sincere hearts, truly repentant, visiting these sacred places in the clothes of ordinary people, not arrogantly wearing uniforms in the name of “loving soldiers”.

On the other hand, when they come to the sacred world, deep in the spirit and soul of the Vietnamese people, recalling the tragic loss and sacrifice of our Army and people, they dress up as puppet soldiers and American soldiers - the ones who directly caused the casualties and massacre of the "green uniform" of Uncle Ho's Army with language and rhetoric, in the name of "loving soldiers". The behavior of the "loving soldiers" association and group from cyberspace to real life clearly shows that they have touched the "sacred world", evoking pain, loss and pride of the Vietnamese people. That is truly an act of "cultural invasion".

Issues raised

Suppose, if we do not prevent the offensive behavior and activities, the "cultural invasion" of the "soldier-loving" association and group, which is synonymous with the yellow flag with three stripes of the previous puppet regime, in contrast to the green uniform of Uncle Ho's soldiers and the sacred red flag with a yellow star, then one day, when they wear that uniform, ride the jeep of the puppet army and puppet regime, holding the yellow flag with three stripes proudly "showing off their power" on the peaceful land and road that our ancestors sacrificed so much blood to obtain, what will happen?

Therefore, we must resolutely and persistently fight to prevent the "cultural invasion" from the "soldier-loving" association and group! In response to the acts and manifestations of cultural invasion and damage to the flag and uniform of the Vietnam People's Army by the "soldier-loving" association and group, we would like to propose the following solutions:

Firstly , strengthen "building to fight" in accordance with the guiding principle of the Chief of the General Department of Politics of the Vietnam People's Army on Planning cultural institutions in the Army. period 2021-2025, orientation to 2030.

After nearly 80 years of establishment, construction, fighting and growing up since December 22, 1944, the image of the green uniform of Uncle Ho's soldiers, born from the people, not sparing their youth, blood and bones, "fighting for the people", selflessly, absolutely "loyal to the Party/ loyal to the country/ filial to the people/ completing any task/ overcoming any difficulty/ defeating any enemy" has entered the subconscious, thoughts, feelings, become songs, lyrics, spread from the army to everyday life, become the typical qualities and identity of the heroic revolutionary spirit of the Vietnam People's Army, spreading to international friends.

That image, that spirit, that temperament, has been forged and tested through countless hardships, dangers, losses, and sacrifices in wartime as well as peacetime, the most recent mark of which is the sacrifice of 13 Army officers, the leader of which held the rank of general (Major General Nguyen Van Man, Deputy Commander of Military Region 4) while on a search and rescue mission at Rao Trang 3 Hydropower Plant (Phong Xuan Commune, Phong Dien District, Thua Thien Hue) on October 15, 2020.

That image has more clearly depicted the qualities of fighting for the country and the people, sacrificing oneself with the spirit of "Determination to fight, determination to win" of Uncle Ho's soldiers. That image is a living example, a symbol of the loss and sacrifice of Uncle Ho's soldiers in peacetime, opposing the distortion and smearing of the green color of the soldier's uniform by the so-called "love of soldiers" today.

Second , spreading the "construction", innovation, and creativity in propagating the image of the green uniform of "Uncle Ho's soldiers" in the cyberspace environment, synonymous with resolutely "fighting" and opposing the "cultural invasion" of the Vietnam People's Army - the green uniform of the soldiers. In the context of the current Industrial Revolution 4.0, besides the real space, there is also a cyberspace where the "virtuality" of cyberspace is increasingly present like "real space".

In that cyberspace, there is both “gold” and “brass”, there is the essence, but also full of cultural “dregs”. Therefore, to counter the spread of bad, toxic, dregs, smearing and distorting information about the military’s cultural environment, digital transformation, spreading the “building” of the qualities and beauty of Uncle Ho’s soldiers to counter the sabotage, smearing and distorting of the image of Uncle Ho’s soldiers by the so-called “love of soldiers” is an important and urgent task.

How can each unit and each soldier who uses a smartphone be a soldier on the cultural and ideological front, spreading information and beautiful images of Uncle Ho's soldiers, both as a strong affirmation and forever lighting up the tradition and qualities of Uncle Ho's soldiers of the Vietnam People's Army, and as a direct slap to the smeared and distorted images of the so-called "love soldiers" group, which is ridiculous and offensive?

Third , along with spreading the green uniform of Uncle Ho's soldiers, criticizing the hybrid, ridiculous, and vulgar habits of the "love soldiers" association and group, it is thought that State authorities need to research and issue necessary sanctions to control and prevent the spread of information, images, and activities of the so-called "love soldiers".

At the same time, thoroughly inform the Management Board of historical relics and cultural event organizers nationwide to be vigilant, not to welcome, not to receive, not to allow people wearing ridiculous and offensive costumes or using vehicles of American soldiers or puppet soldiers (except for diplomatic reception delegations of the government) to come to historical relics, places where cultural events are held, and memorial sites for heroic martyrs.

Along with that, encourage and motivate fashion businesses, especially those in the military, to be creative and design casual clothing models in the style of Uncle Ho's soldiers to sell to consumers who truly love the "green color of military uniforms".

PHUC PHUONG