The life of General Doan Khue
Comrade Doan Khue (alias Vo Tien Trinh) was born on October 29, 1923 in a family with a rich tradition of patriotism in Gia Dang village, Trieu Tan commune (now Trieu Lang commune), Trieu Phong district, Quang Tri province.
Enlightened by the revolution early, in 1939, at the age of 16, he left his family, participated in the anti-imperialist youth movement and became Secretary of the anti-imperialist youth movement of Trieu Phong. In 1940, he was arrested by the French colonialists, and for 5 years (1940 - 1945) he was imprisoned and exiled from Quang Tri prison to Buon Ma Thuot exile. He always showed his steadfast and indomitable spirit in the face of the enemy's brutal torture. He was appointed as a member of a loyal organization called the "Revolutionary Mobilization Committee".
In May 1945, leaving the imperialist prison, comrade Doan Khue was assigned by the organization to build a revolutionary base in Quang Binh . In June 1945, he was admitted to the Indochinese Communist Party and appointed as Chairman of the Viet Minh Front of Quang Binh province.
In August 1946, comrade Doan Khue was mobilized to the battlefield of Zone 5, assigned as Political Commissar , Secretary of the Party Committee of Quang Ngai Army School; Political Commissar, Secretary of the Party Committee of Ho Tich Battalion, Quang Ngai. From April 1947, he successively assumed the positions of Political Commissar, Secretary of the Party Committee of Regiments 69, 73, 78, 126 and 84 of Inter-zone 5. In early 1952, he was Political Commissar, Secretary of the Party Committee of Regiment 108 of Inter-zone 5; Deputy Political Commissar of Division 305 - the first main division in the South Central Coast until the end of the resistance war against France.
From November 1954 to 1957, according to the organization's assignment, comrade Doan Khue temporarily left the battlefield of Zone 5 and took on the duties of Deputy Political Commissar of Division 675; Political Commissar of Division 351, Secretary of the Party Committee of Division 351. In March 1958, he was transferred to hold the position of Political Commissar, Secretary of the Party Committee of Brigade 270 in the military demarcation area, member of the Party Committee of Military Zone 4. From October 1960, he was Deputy Political Commissar of Military Zone 4, member of the Party Committee of Military Zone 4.
In 1963, when our people's resistance war against the US entered a fierce period, Zone 5 became a strategic area heavily attacked by the enemy. Comrade Doan Khue was sent back to the Zone 5 battlefield as a member of the Standing Committee of the Zone Party Committee, Deputy Political Commissar of the Military Zone, and Deputy Secretary of the Party Committee of Military Zone 5.
At the 4th National Party Congress (December 1976), he was elected as a member of the Party Central Committee and appointed as Commander and Political Commissar of the Military Region, Secretary of the Party Committee of Military Region 5.
From April 1983 to November 1986, he was assigned to be Deputy Commander - Chief of Staff of Command V, Deputy Head of the Expert Delegation to help Cambodia. From December 1986 to January 1998, he was assigned by the Party and State to hold important positions: Deputy Minister of National Defense and Commander of Command 719, Head of the Leadership Board of the Expert Delegation to help Cambodia, Chief of the General Staff of the Vietnam People's Army, Minister of National Defense, member of the Standing Committee of the Party Committee and then Deputy Secretary of the Central Military Party Committee.
General Doan Khue was a member of the Party Central Committee from the 4th to the 8th terms; a member of the Politburo from the 6th, 7th, and 8th terms; and a National Assembly delegate from the 7th, 8th, 9th, and 10th terms. He was awarded the rank of Major General by the Party and the State in 1974 and General in 1990. General Doan Khue passed away on January 16, 1999, at the age of 76. For his many contributions to the revolutionary cause, he was honored to receive the Ho Chi Minh Medal and many other noble medals and orders from the Party and the State.
General Doan Khue's contributions to the resistance war for national liberation
Born into a patriotic family with a rich tradition of revolutionary struggle, in 1939, comrade Doan Khue joined the Trieu Phong Anti-Imperialist Youth Movement. With the enthusiasm of youth, he was enthusiastic about his activities, not afraid of hardship or sacrifice. When the Japanese fascists crossed the Sino-Vietnamese border to occupy Lang Son (1940), the people of Bac Son rose up in revolt. Implementing the policy of the Quang Tri Provincial Party Committee, the Trieu Phong Anti-Imperialist Youth Union organized the distribution of leaflets calling on the people to respond to the Bac Son uprising to expel the Japanese and French. In 1940, comrade Doan Khue was captured by the enemy, sentenced to prison in Quang Tri prison, and then exiled to Buon Ma Thuot.
Comrade Doan Khue was a member of the “Revolutionary Mobilization Committee” in the prison, assigned to research and organize prison breaks for key Party comrades. This was a difficult and dangerous task, requiring courage, intelligence and perseverance. During the years 1942 - 1944, he and the leadership of the “Revolutionary Mobilization Committee” in the prison successfully organized many struggles to protest the brutal beatings, demanding improved living conditions for prisoners, achieving many victories and organizing many successful prison breaks.
After being released from prison, he returned to his revolutionary base building activities in Quang Binh. Comrade Doan Khue actively contributed to the uprising to successfully bring power into the hands of the people of Quang Binh province and was appointed as Chairman of the Viet Minh Front of Quang Binh province.
After the success of the August Revolution in 1945, the Central Party Committee and government established the Military Committee of Zone C, including the armed forces of Quang Binh, Quang Tri, Thua Thien - Hue, Quang Nam, with comrade Chu Huy Man as Chairman and comrade Doan Khue as Military Commissioner. When the French colonialists provoked in Saigon, the people of the South and South Central regions rose up to fight, comrade Doan Khue was assigned to command a unit operating in the area of Inter-zone 5; then, he was successively appointed to hold the positions of Political Commissar, Secretary of the Party Committee of the Quang Ngai Army School; Political Commissar, Secretary of the Party Committee of Regiments 69, 73, 78, 126, 84; Political Commissar, Secretary of the Party Committee of Regiment 108, then Deputy Political Commissar of Division 305 - the first main division in the South Central region. These regiments and divisions mostly operated in extremely difficult and fierce areas. As a dedicated cadre, close to the grassroots, he and the Party Committee led the units to excellently complete all assigned tasks.
During the resistance war against French colonialism and American imperialism, his political qualities and military talents were trained by war practice. In him, politics and military always blended together. With a sharp, practical mindset, always deeply researching and mastering the Party's military ideology and art, in directing Party and political work, he always cared about building a clean and strong Party, cared about Party bases, attached importance to building cadres at all levels, and focused on fostering revolutionary will for cadres and soldiers.
In early 1954, as Political Commissar of Regiment 108 - the first mobile main unit of Inter-zone 5, he and the Campaign Command, Regimental Command, with timely and accurate initiatives and decisions, directed the forces to victory: destroying Mang Den post - a fortified stronghold, the key battle of the Kon Tum liberation campaign.
During the resistance war against the US, Zone 5 was an important strategic area of the Southern Vietnam battlefield, where the US expeditionary force first landed. The problem was how, in the condition that the enemy had a powerful military force with modern equipment, we could maintain the offensive position, the initiative to attack and organize a victorious battle. Deputy Political Commissar of Military Zone Doan Khue found the answer and made great contributions in the work of promoting ideology, building the fighting spirit for the armed forces of the military zone "to fight and defeat the American invaders"; together with the leaders and commanders of Zone 5, Military Zone 5 closely followed the battlefield; established three Divisions 3, 2, 1. With a strong main force, he contributed with the collective of the Regional Party Committee to lead the army and people of Zone 5 to fight a new type of campaign: the comprehensive offensive campaign. Zone 5 became the locality that “led the fight against the Americans” with famous battles and campaigns in history: Nui Thanh (May 26, 1965), Ba Gia (May 29 to July 20, 1965), Van Tuong (August 18 to August 19, 1965), Plei Me (October 19 to November 26, 1965), Dong Duong (November 17 to December 18, 1965). Comrade Doan Khue was very interested in new tactics. He often said: “Building willpower is to ensure the troops are determined to fight, and we must also build tactical thinking to defeat the enemy.”
Not only did he closely follow the troops in tactical training before entering combat, he also regularly encouraged them in a timely manner before and during combat. In July 1974, in the battle of Nong Son - Trung Phuoc, he directed the implementation of the "encirclement, encroachment, and decisive attack" tactic. The victory of Nong Son - Trung Phuoc created a new position and strength for us in the final years of the resistance war against the US on the battlefield of Zone 5. With strong faith in the way of fighting the US and a strategic vision, in the Spring campaign of 1975, he handled many complicated situations with sharp determination, making an important contribution to the great victory of the campaign to liberate Da Nang, creating momentum for the general offensive to completely liberate the South in 1975.
General Doan Khue's contributions to the cause of building socialism and the renovation process in our country
The country was unified, in the position of Commander and Political Commissar of Military Region 5, in charge of the strategic area of South Central Coast, including the island chain, coastal plain provinces and the Central Highlands, Comrade Doan Khue and the Standing Committee of the Party Committee and the Military Region Command had a defense plan suitable to the new situation. At the same time, FULRO forces were still stubbornly trying to find every way to oppose us. Comrade Doan Khue conducted in-depth research on their origin, formation process and nature of activities, so he transformed the perception of "hunting down FULRO" into the issue of "solving FULRO", because FULRO was not simply a military issue but also a political issue. From there, the issue of "solving FULRO" in Military Region 5 went in the right direction, with high efficiency.
Comrade Doan Khue also paid great attention to training and fostering cadres from ethnic minorities. In 1979, he and the Standing Committee of the Party Committee and the Military Region Command organized the Military Political School 2 in the Central Highlands (now the Military Region 5 Ethnic Cadet School). This was a strategic initiative, clearly demonstrating the ethnic policy and cadre and human strategy of General Doan Khue. Thousands of cadres of infantry units and arms were supplemented and trained in short-term courses, thousands of cadets were nurtured and matured from this school, meeting the requirements for military cadres for the Central Highlands strategic area in particular and the armed forces of Military Region 5 in general.
Regarding the mission of helping Cambodia, in 1979, Military Region 5 undertook an important strategic direction. He directly served as the Campaign Commander, urgently preparing forces, preparing the battlefield, commanding the battle to create a campaign position until the end of the campaign, all of which were victorious, meeting the requirements set by the Ministry of National Defense.
In 1983, he was appointed Deputy Commander - Chief of Staff of Command 719. In his new position, he repeatedly went to the front lines to inspect preparations, listened to the opinions of officers and soldiers to work with the group to determine the optimal plan to fight the enemy, creating conditions for units to complete their tasks well. After each campaign, he personally went down to attend the experience summary.
In the cause of national renewal, Comrade Doan Khue made very worthy contributions. He and other leaders of the Party, the State, the Central Military Party Committee and the Ministry of National Defense proposed correct policies and successfully organized military and defense tasks, building and protecting the socialist Fatherland in the renovation period, taking care of building the Army in all aspects in the direction of "revolution, discipline, elite and gradually modern", making many contributions in directing the work of summarizing the Party's leadership of the revolutionary war. General Doan Khue also left a good impression on cadres and soldiers with his democratic, scientific, close-to-the-base working style, always caring for the progress of subordinates, worthy of being an excellent leader and commander with great prestige in our Army. He is a typical example for generations of cadres and soldiers in the entire armed forces to follow.
General Doan Khue with his hometown Quang Tri
The Party Committee and people of Quang Tri are forever proud of General Doan Khue - one of the outstanding sons of his homeland. He was born into a family with a tradition of patriotism and revolution with many generations fighting and sacrificing for the Fatherland. General Doan Khue's father, Mr. Doan Cau, was admitted to the Party very early and was the first Communist in Gia Dang village. General Doan Khue's family had 2 mothers who were awarded the title of Vietnamese Heroic Mother by the State, 9 siblings, 6 of whom were martyrs; his 2 younger brothers are senior officers of the Vietnam People's Army.
It was the tradition of his homeland and family that contributed to molding and forming the noble character, intelligence and talent of the communist soldier Doan Khue. Throughout his revolutionary activities, despite his extremely busy work, in his heart, comrade Doan Khue always turned to his motherland Quang Tri with unceasing affection and nostalgia, always considering his homeland as the source and lifeblood of his life.
Visiting his hometown, he discussed and gave many heartfelt opinions to the Party Committee, government and people of the province in socio-economic development, ensuring national defense and security, building the Party and the political system, to gradually build his hometown Quang Tri to develop more and more.
Every time he returned to his hometown, he still spent precious time going to remote areas, places with many difficulties and shortages to learn, listen to the opinions and aspirations of the people, and encourage the people to overcome difficulties and build a new life. Wherever he went, he was warmly welcomed by the people. His working style was lively and sincere. When he returned to meet voters, local leaders wanted to give him a spacious and convenient place to rest, but he firmly refused, "as a soldier, I used to live among the people, eat and live with the people, now I have to live like that even more". His working style was not too formal or fussy. He often met voters in schools, in the middle of the cooperative yard, or sometimes in the fields, on the fields... When waiting for enough voters to arrive, there were too many people and not enough seats, so he sat on the railing of the school or sat on the bricks in the cooperative yard. The simple military uniform, silver hair, and warm, friendly Quang Tri accent created a closeness between the General and his fellow voters. Without hesitation or distance, every time they met him, the voters raised all their questions and concerns, expressing their excitement at the changes in their homeland.
When returning to work with all levels, he pointed out which agencies and levels of government were responsible for resolving the issues raised by voters, and where the bottlenecks came from. He discussed and reminded local officials: "We must pay attention to listening to people's opinions, grasping their thoughts and aspirations, and having very specific and practical policies for the people, especially policies on hunger eradication, poverty reduction, cultural and social development, and policies for families with revolutionary contributions."
Visiting families who have contributed to the country, families who have nurtured, sheltered and protected revolutionary bases, heroic Vietnamese mothers, families of war invalids and martyrs, he was moved to share and visit with gratitude and admiration for the sacrifices and losses of his compatriots and comrades for the cause of national liberation. Speaking to the youth union members, he said: "In the resistance war against the French and the Americans to liberate the nation, the feats of the Quang Tri people have gone down in history as a brilliant epic of revolutionary heroism, with miraculous stories and immortal places. Proud of Quang Tri, as the young generation, excellently continuing the tradition of the older revolutionary generations, you should constantly train, strive to study well, compete to establish a career and be ready to protect the Fatherland, bringing Quang Tri to a new height, worthy of the trust and love of the Party, the army and people of the whole country...".
Meeting with district and provincial leaders, he did not forget to emphasize that it is necessary to pay attention to building the political system from the province to the grassroots, especially focusing on the grassroots because the grassroots is where the Party's guidelines and policies are implemented. He pointed out that in the work of Party building, regardless of the circumstances, the Party's leadership role must be maintained. To do well in leadership and direction, he said, it is necessary to build a team of cadres with virtue, talent and capacity. He often said: "The Party's resolutions must be realized through mass movements, so there must be a team of cadres who do a good job of propaganda and education for the people; know how to organize and gather the people to participate in revolutionary movements". With extremely sincere and simple feelings, he always noted: "Study to be a human, then learn to be a leader, to dedicate yourself to the Fatherland and serve the people. Study to gain knowledge, because without knowledge, you cannot lead".
One of the issues that he was particularly concerned about was internal solidarity. He always reminded that “the provincial cadres must consider each other as brothers and sisters, because no one is good at everything and there is no school to train comprehensive cadres. Therefore, we must work together, share responsibilities, and shoulder the burden so that our province can develop quickly and move forward with other provinces”.
Proud of General Doan Khue, the Party Committee, government, army and people of Quang Tri always have warm feelings for him. During the years of working in his homeland full of hardships and fierceness, he was always embraced, nurtured, sheltered and protected by the people. Later, no matter where he is or what position he holds, his homeland of Quang Tri will always follow and encourage his every step of growth and dedication to the Party, the revolution, and the homeland; always proud of this excellent son of his homeland.
Imbued with the enthusiasm and ambition of comrade Doan Khue, the Party Committee, government and people of Quang Tri have persistently overcome difficulties, strived to achieve many achievements:
Quang Tri province's economy is growing continuously. The economic structure is shifting positively. In the first 6 months of 2023, the average GRDP growth rate reached 6.52%. With this growth rate, Quang Tri ranked 7th in the North Central and Central Coast regions.
Many socio-cultural indicators of the province are higher than the national average. Attention is paid to the preservation and promotion of tangible and intangible cultural values. The ethnic policies of the Party and the State are implemented synchronously, promptly and effectively. Poverty reduction and social security are regularly well taken care of. National defense, security and social order are maintained; foreign affairs activities are strengthened and expanded. The work of Party and government building, the practice of thrift, prevention and combat of waste, negativity, and prevention and combat of corruption has achieved many positive results... Quang Tri homeland is increasingly changing its appearance, steadily developing along with the whole country.
The revolutionary tradition of his homeland and family has nurtured and trained General Doan Khue to become a staunch communist and an excellent leader of the army. Assessing his contributions, the Party Central Committee affirmed: “Throughout many different positions, wherever he was, whatever he did, he always devoted all his efforts to the Party and the People, putting the common interests of the revolution and the army above personal interests, always cultivating knowledge, closely following the grassroots, paying attention to summarizing practices, firmly maintaining Party spirit and principles, and striving to complete all assigned tasks”. He is a shining example encouraging us on the path of building a rich and strong country, firmly protecting the Socialist Republic of Vietnam./.
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