Places that hold sentimental value
After the French colonialists returned to invade Laos in early 1946, they directed the reactionary puppet government to terrorize and kill many patriotic Laotians. More than 200 patriotic Laotian cadres, intellectuals, and prominent figures were invited by the Vietnamese side to live and work in Đá Bàn, Làng Ngòi, Mỹ Bằng commune, Yên Sơn district, Tuyên Quang province (formerly).
At the request of Prince Souphanouvong, a secret Vietnamese armed unit led by Mr. Nguyen Tu Quy escorted Prince Souphanouvong from Thailand, crossing the Mekong River, traversing forests, high mountain passes, and deep ravines, walking for months to reach Vietnam, and then arriving at Da Ban and Lang Ngoi.
From August 13th to 15th, 1950, over 100 delegates representing the Lao patriotic forces met at the Lao National Congress, electing the Neo Lao Itxala (Lao Freedom Front), with Prince Souphanouvong as its chairman. The Neo Lao Itxala leadership also included Kaysone Phomvihane, Nuhak Phoumxavan, Khamtay Siphandon, Phoumi Vongvichit, and others. The Congress also elected the Lao Resistance Government, with Prince Souphanouvong as Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs . The Lao Resistance Government also included Kaysone Phomvihane, Nuhak Phoumxavan, Khamtay Siphandon, Phoumi Vongvichit, and Khamsuk Vongsak…
At the historical site in Tuyen Quang, President Ho Chi Minh and Prince Souphanouvong discussed solidarity and a fighting alliance between Vietnam and Laos against a common enemy.
During the Lao National Congress, from the safe zone in Viet Bac, President Ho Chi Minh repeatedly visited the residences and workplaces of Lao leaders and spoke with them about solidarity, unity, and the fighting alliance against the common enemy until final victory. After the Congress, Neo Lao Itxala and the resistance government returned to the revolutionary base in Sam Neua to lead the Lao people and army in the resistance against colonialism and imperialism.
“In every success of the Lao revolution, there was a direct contribution from the Vietnamese revolution. On every battlefield of our beloved homeland, the blood of Vietnamese soldiers mingled with the blood of cadres, soldiers, and people of the Lao ethnic groups…”
"The Lao People's Revolutionary Party and the Lao people of all ethnic groups pledge to do their utmost to consolidate and strengthen the special Lao-Vietnamese relationship as if protecting the pupil of their eye; at the same time, they will strive to build and develop a comprehensive, long-lasting cooperative relationship of mutual assistance, so that together they can protect the achievements of the revolution and build a prosperous and strong country..."
(Comrade Kaysone Phomvihane, General Secretary of the Lao People's Revolutionary Party, President of the Lao People's Democratic Republic).
Lao Kho, located in Phieng Khoai commune, Yen Chau district, Son La province (formerly), was the operational base of the Special Task Force, consisting of 19 Lao and Vietnamese people, led by Comrade Kaysone Phomvihane as Commander and Comrade Hoang Dong Tung as Political Commissar.
The place name Lao Kho is located in a narrow valley, near the border with Laos, surrounded by high, towering rocky mountains. In the past, it was a desolate, uninhabited area with no village name. In 1930, the family of Mr. Trang Lao Kho (a Hmong person) along with four other families moved from Van Ho, Moc Chau to settle here, and that's how the village got its name, Lao Kho.
The team was stationed in the Tham Me cave, which was about 300 square meters in size, with many entrances and exits to ensure safety. Every day, everyone practiced military drills and studied politics. Comrade Kaysone Phomvihane was invited to stay at Mr. Trang Lao Kho's house. According to local custom, Mr. Lao Kho's family held a ceremony to adopt Comrade Kaysone Phomvihane as their son, tying threads around his wrists as if they were blood relatives, bound together in life and death. Undeterred by danger, Mr. Lao Kho regularly brought rice, vegetables, and salt from the villagers to supply the Lao-Vietnamese soldiers. Upon hearing that French soldiers were raiding the area, he immediately went out that night to report the news.
The residence of Prince Souphanouvong in Ngoi Village, My Bang Commune, Yen Son District, Tuyen Quang Province (formerly). (Photo: Archival material)
From the Lao Kho base, Comrade Kaysone Phomvihane led his unit across the border into the areas of Muong Het, Xieng Kho, and Sam Neua to spread patriotic propaganda, build bases and armed forces, and organize attacks against enemy raids. For his achievements in work and combat, Comrade Kaysone Phomvihane was admitted to the Indochinese Communist Party on January 6, 1949, by the Party cell of the Northern Lao Assault Team.
The Lao Itxala Army was established on January 20, 1949, in Lao Hung commune, Xieng Kho district, Hua Phan province. Comrade Kaysone Phomvihane was entrusted with the responsibility of Commander-in-Chief. The Lao Itxala Army Command also included comrades: Khamtay Siphandon, Phun Sipasot, and Singhapo Sikhot Chulamaly.
In November 1949, the Lao Itxala Army, in coordination with the Vietnamese Volunteer Army, launched an attack on the enemy along the Ma River defense line, destroying 9 enemy strongholds and establishing the Xieng Kho District Resistance Committee…
The site where Comrade Kaysone Phomvihane and the Northern Lao Vanguard operated in Lao Kho has now been transformed into a Vietnam-Laos Revolutionary Historical Relic Area on a 3,500m2 site, comprising a memorial house, a friendship monument, and a commemorative plaque. On July 6, 2017, the Chairwoman of the Vietnamese National Assembly, Nguyen Thi Kim Ngan, and the Chairwoman of the Lao National Assembly, Pany Yathotu, cut the ribbon to inaugurate the site and presented gifts to the family of Comrade Trang Lao Kho and the people of the village. The Lao Kho relic site has been classified as a national-level Vietnam-Laos Revolutionary Historical Relic by the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism of Vietnam, possessing historical value and closely linked to traditional cultural values and the special friendship between the two countries.
National Assembly Chairwoman Nguyen Thi Kim Ngan and Lao National Assembly Chairwoman Pany Yathotu cut the ribbon to inaugurate the Lao Kho historical site in Phieng Khai commune, Yen Chau district, Son La province. (Photo: Archival material)
After visiting the Vietnam-Laos historical site in Moc Chau town, Son La province, we visited the Cham Mat historical site in Hoa Binh province. A large stone stele, weighing 37.8 tons, 4 meters long and 6 meters high, is inscribed with Vietnamese and Lao characters: "Here, in December 1971, the preparatory meeting for the Second Congress of the Lao People's Party (now the Lao People's Revolutionary Party) took place." On December 25, 2012, the Cham Mat site was classified as a National Historical Monument by the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism of Vietnam.
The comrades from the Monument Management Board introduced: Having suffered painful defeats on the battlefields, the US imperialists deployed their air force to fight in Laos, launching fierce bombing raids on the liberated areas of Laos. In this new situation, the Central Committee of the Lao People's Party decided to hold its Second National Congress. The Hoa Binh (former) Provincial Party Committee was assigned by the Central Committee to assist the Lao People's Party in preparing a meeting hall and accommodation for 300 Lao cadres. A large meeting hall was built, 50 meters long and 29 meters wide, with brick walls, one main entrance and four side entrances, and a red tiled roof. Surrounding it were four rows of houses for Lao cadres and soldiers. This was the location for political training courses, mass mobilization training, cultural education, and health improvement for Lao cadres. Before the opening of the Congress, General Secretary Le Duan and Comrade Le Van Luong visited. Comrade Kaysone Phomvihane guided the delegation on a tour of the meeting hall and the living and working quarters of the Lao delegation. Following the preparatory congress, the Second National Congress of the Lao People's Revolutionary Party officially convened from February 3-6, 1972, in the Vieng Xay war zone, Hua Phan province. The Congress adopted amendments to the Party's charter, renamed the Party the Lao People's Revolutionary Party, honored President Ho Chi Minh as the Party's leader, and adopted the Resolution "Strengthening Lao-Vietnamese Solidarity".
Officials, reporters, photographers, engineers, office staff, and drivers of the Vietnam News Agency (now VNA) once crossed the Truong Son Mountains to the other side of the border to assist the Lao revolution in liberated areas before 1975, and subsequently helped their Lao friends in the cause of national defense and construction… VNA is honored to have contributed the building blocks to construct the exemplary, loyal, and pure Vietnam-Lao special friendship monument.
Cultivating friendship, solidarity, and loyalty.
During his two years of activity in Thailand, under the pseudonym Thau Chin, revolutionary Nguyen Ai Quoc - Ho Chi Minh chose Laos as a direct bridgehead to spread the progressive ideas of national salvation that he had studied and formulated.
From Thailand, Thau Chin secretly crossed the Mekong River into Laos. His first stop was Tha Dan village in Savannakhet province. Next, he worked in Xieng Vang village, Nong Bok district, Khammouane province. Under the guise of a teacher instructing Vietnamese people, he spoke with the villagers, urging them to always unite Vietnamese and Lao people, working together to drive the enemy out of their country. He shared with them his experience and methods for organizing patriotic and revolutionary groups…
Ribbon-cutting ceremony for the Xieng Vang historical site in Noong district, Khammouane province.
Receiving former VNA officials and experts who assisted Laos, Mr. Dang Van Hong (Lao name: Hong Khot Vongsa), 79 years old, said: The people of Xieng Vang village, following the advice of Mr. Thau Chin, established "Mutual Aid" groups, acted as messengers, and participated in guerrilla warfare to protect their villages.
Remembering the source of the water we drink, the people were very excited to hear that the Vietnamese and Lao governments had decided to build a memorial to President Ho Chi Minh in Xieng Vang. Ten families voluntarily moved their homes and donated 1.5 hectares of land for the project. Construction began on May 19, 2010, and the memorial was inaugurated on December 7, 2012. Many valuable artifacts, images, documents, and books about the noble revolutionary life of President Ho Chi Minh are displayed at the memorial.
This place embodies the cultural beauty of Laos and Vietnam, featuring flower gardens, ornamental plants, and even "Uncle Ho's Fish Pond." Opened on the occasion of the 122nd anniversary of President Ho Chi Minh's birth, it annually attracts numerous delegations from Laos, Vietnam, other countries, and international organizations who come to visit and pay respects to President Ho Chi Minh.
The groundbreaking ceremony for the restoration of the Ho Chi Minh Memorial Site in Tha Dan, Savannakhet province.
In 2013, the Ho Chi Minh Memorial Site was built in Tha Dan village on the Mekong River. To commemorate the 125th anniversary of President Ho Chi Minh's birth, during a pilgrimage following in his footsteps, a delegation of former experts who assisted Laos and Vietnamese volunteer soldiers offered incense at the Ho Chi Minh Memorial Monument in Tha Dan. On April 9, 2023, Ho Chi Minh City and Savannakhet province held a ceremony to renovate the Tha Dan site, transforming it into a Lao-Vietnamese historical site. The project included: a memorial monument made of precious stone bearing an image of President Ho Chi Minh, a new large bas-relief behind the monument, a new exhibition hall, an office building, and a lighting system. Speaking on this occasion, Comrade Bunchom Uponpasot, Secretary and Chairman of Savannakhet province, said that this project aims to express gratitude for the immense contributions of President Ho Chi Minh in diligently cultivating the special friendship between Laos and Vietnam.
Officials and former experts of the Vietnam News Agency (VNA) visited and offered incense to pay tribute to President Ho Chi Minh at the Xieng Vang historical site.
Concluding our pilgrimage to historical sites in Vietnam and Laos, we visited and offered incense at the Battle Alliance Monument in Xieng Khouang province, paying tribute to the Vietnamese heroes and martyrs who sacrificed their lives alongside the blood of Laotian cadres, soldiers, and people across the fierce battlefields. Major General Huynh Dac Huong, former Head and Political Commissar of the Vietnamese Military Expert Delegation in Laos, stated that during the resistance war against colonial imperialism, 40,000 Vietnamese cadres and soldiers sacrificed their lives and tens of thousands were wounded on the battlefields of Laos.
Officials and former experts from the Vietnam News Agency (VNA) visited and offered incense at the Lao-Vietnamese Combat Alliance Monument in Xieng Khouang province.
Source: https://baotintuc.vn/van-de-quan-tam/nhung-dia-chi-do-tham-tinh-thuy-chung-viet-nam-lao-20251118131506607.htm
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