Veterans from Bac Ninh bravely serve the community.

Leading the way and setting a good example in various movements.

One outstanding example is veteran Nghiem Dac Vuong (born in 1961), residing in Ben Tram village, Bo Ha commune. Despite being over 60 years old, he remains as agile and decisive as he was during his military days.

Veteran Nghiêm Đắc Vương (on the right) directly supervises the construction of the road connecting Bến Trăm village with Trại Mới village.

The recent Typhoon No. 11 caused a serious landslide on a 150-meter stretch of road connecting Ben Tram village with Trai Moi village (Dong Ky commune), almost paralyzing traffic and forcing students to take a detour of nearly 6 kilometers to get to school. Unable to bear it, Mr. Vuong voluntarily wrote a letter to the local authorities requesting permission to use his personal funds to rent machinery and level the road temporarily. After only a few days of urgent construction, under his close supervision, the road was completed, with over 7,000 cubic meters of earth and rocks leveled, creating a convenient access route for the people. When asked about the road, Mr. Vuong simply smiled kindly and said, "Contributing to building a road for the people is something that needs to be done; there shouldn't be any hesitation."

Mr. Vu Van Dong, a local resident, shared: “My family has a young child in the 4th grade, and the road to school was swept away by the floodwaters. As soon as he heard the news, Mr. Vuong was the first to arrive. He not only provided the money but also personally went to the construction site to supervise and direct each stage to ensure the road was completed as soon as possible. Everyone in the village respects him and considers him like family.”

Not only is he active in the community, Mr. Vuong is currently the Chairman of the Board of Directors of Phu Cau Investment and Development Joint Stock Company - specializing in the production of industrial plywood for export. With his keen business acumen, he invested in three modern production lines, creating stable jobs for over 100 workers, with incomes ranging from 9 to 15 million VND per month. In the last three years, the company's revenue has consistently exceeded 160 billion VND per year, contributing billions of VND in taxes to the state budget.

Simultaneously, he actively participated in the "Veterans Helping Each Other to Excel in Business " movement, providing capital and sharing production experience with many members. Specifically in the new rural development program, he and his business contributed over 10 billion VND to build more than 7 km of roads, support poor households, restore historical sites, repair village roads, and organize practical charitable activities.

In Kinh Bac ward, veteran Nguyen Van Vu, Chairman of the Khuc Xuyen Handicraft Cooperative, has chosen a different path to uphold the qualities of a soldier: building livelihoods for his comrades.

Having enlisted in 1976, he fought in the Central Highlands and on the northern border. In 1984, after being discharged, he returned to his hometown and began developing his family's economy, focusing particularly on the traditional craft of producing fine wood furniture. However, in recent years, this small-scale handicraft industry has faced considerable difficulties due to strong competition from the aluminum and glass industry. To preserve the craft and regain market share, he is forced to innovate designs, improve quality, and optimize costs.

In August 2022, Mr. Vu and other veterans in the area discussed and decided to establish the Khuc Xuyen Handicraft Cooperative. In the early days, the cooperative struggled to maintain operations, with revenue insufficient to pay salaries. But Mr. Vu did not give up; he proactively encouraged members to borrow capital, invest in modern machinery, and apply advanced automation technology to production.

Modern machinery such as CNC wood lathes, planers, and milling machines have been put into operation, significantly improving production efficiency. By 2024, the cooperative's revenue reached 10 billion VND. Currently, the unit has 50 permanent employees, with an average income of approximately 15 million VND per person per month. The cooperative's products, including wooden paintings, tables and chairs, doors, and furniture featuring traditional motifs such as carp gazing at the moon and the four mythical creatures, are increasingly popular in the market.

Mr. Vu shared: "Doing business is also a battlefront. In the past, we held guns to defend the Fatherland; now we hold machines and work with wood to preserve our trades, creating jobs for our comrades. That's also a way for us to contribute to building our homeland."

Spreading the qualities of Uncle Ho's soldiers.

Bac Ninh province currently has over 180,000 veteran members, organized into 100 grassroots veterans' associations. In all fields, from production and business to rural development and charitable activities, the "Exemplary Veterans" movement has become a driving force encouraging veterans to continue making positive contributions to the community.

Mr. Nguyen Duc Thuan, Chairman of the Provincial Veterans Association, said: The "Exemplary Veteran" emulation movement creates a bond between members and the association, contributing to building a clean and strong organization. Members effectively play a role as role models in their families and communities; help each other develop economically and reduce poverty; and actively contribute to building an increasingly prosperous and beautiful homeland.

Besides exemplary figures like Mr. Vuong and Mr. Vu, thousands of other veterans in the province are silently contributing to the cause. Currently, there are over 3,000 veteran-owned households engaged in farm businesses; 148 cooperatives; nearly 4,600 service businesses and 374 enterprises owned by veterans, creating jobs for over 33,000 workers. The poverty rate among veteran-owned households has decreased significantly, from 0.6% in 2024 to 0.45% in 2025. In 2025 alone, the veterans' associations at all levels mobilized over 1.2 billion VND, supporting the demolition of 23 temporary houses and providing thousands of gifts to members facing difficult circumstances or illness.

The movement is also closely linked to the campaign "All people unite to build new rural areas and civilized urban areas". Members throughout the province have voluntarily donated more than 75,000 m² of land, contributed approximately 6.3 billion VND and tens of thousands of man-days to build and upgrade 140 km of roads, install 12,000 security cameras and nearly 400 km of rural street lighting.

Not only are veterans a core force in socio-economic development at the grassroots level, many also actively participate in Party and government work, acting as a bridge between the Party, the State, and the people. Chairman of the Provincial Veterans Association, Nguyen Duc Thuan, affirmed: “Through the emulation movement, the quality of the association's organization has improved significantly. The percentage of member families achieving the title of "Cultural Family" currently stands at over 99.8%. The veterans of Bac Ninh are truly a solid foundation in all grassroots movements.”

Text and photos: Trung Anh

Source: https://baobacninhtv.vn/cuu-chien-binh-bac-ninh-xong-pha-vi-cong-dong-postid429428.bbg