War Invalids and Martyrs Day (July 27) is an annual occasion for every cadre, party member, people and overseas Vietnamese to remember and show gratitude to the heroic martyrs, wounded soldiers, sick soldiers... who sacrificed their blood and bones to regain independence and freedom for the Fatherland. That is the morality of "When drinking water, remember its source", "Repaying gratitude" of the nation.

1. There are no longer many wrong perceptions and incorrect understandings about the nature of War Invalids and Martyrs Day, about the nation's outstanding sons who fell, sacrificed their blood and bones for the cause of national liberation, protecting the Fatherland, for peace and happiness of the people. In any aspect, the great sacrifice of the heroic martyrs, of the wounded and sick soldiers cannot be denied, cannot be equated with any distorted arguments about the just resistance wars of our nation. But that does not mean that wrong and distorted perceptions no longer exist.

The most obvious manifestation is the distortion of the nature and meaning of War Invalids and Martyrs Day, the distortion of the sacrifices and contributions of heroic martyrs; the argument that it is due to the situation of "cooking flesh and blood", "brothers killing each other"; the short-sighted thinking, the expression of ingratitude, the denial of the gratitude activities of the Party, State and people of Vietnam; the comparison, jealousy, incorrect perception of the Party and State's policies towards those with merit; the "concept swapping", equating the sacred duty, the noble sacrifice of the revolutionary forces with those who are counter-revolutionary, follow colonialism and imperialism; the deliberate distortion that "our Party and State do not care about those who have contributed to the revolution". There are even those who have insulted the blood sacrifice of heroic martyrs...

There are many reasons to explain these incorrect perceptions, but in the end, those people did not have enough information, did not have access to official information about our nation's just struggles, and there are those who deliberately did not understand; deliberately distorted the nature of those struggles for personal interests and selfish schemes.

Respecting and spreading the nation's moral value of "When drinking water, remember its source". Photo: General Secretary To Lam visits and presents gifts to wounded and sick soldiers / VNA

2. Throughout the history of building and defending the country, "protecting against storms in the morning and blocking the sun and fire in the afternoon", the Vietnamese people have had to confront and defeat all invaders. The spirit of patriotism, indomitable will, and sacrifice for the Fatherland have always been nurtured, nurtured, and promoted, becoming a cultural tradition and an endogenous source of strength for our nation. Continuing that precious tradition, in the struggles for national liberation, for independence and freedom for the Fatherland and for a peaceful and happy life for the people; under the leadership of the Party, millions of the nation's outstanding children have bravely fought, heroically sacrificed, and devoted their blood and bones to the country.

They are the ones who left behind their families and loved ones, gave up their dreams and personal ambitions to take up arms to protect every inch of the sacred land of the Fatherland. That noble sacrifice is immeasurable and it is thanks to those sacrifices that today's generation can live in peace and freedom. In the "Letter to the Standing Committee of the Organizing Committee of the "National War Invalids Day" (July 17, 1947), President Ho Chi Minh wrote: "War invalids are those who have sacrificed their families and blood to protect the Fatherland and protect their compatriots. For the benefit of the Fatherland and their compatriots, you have suffered from illness and cripples. Therefore, the Fatherland and our compatriots must be grateful and must help those heroic sons..." (1). To the martyrs, Uncle Ho advised: "The blood of those martyrs has made the revolutionary flag more brilliant red. The heroic sacrifice of the martyrs has prepared our country for the blossoming of independence and the fruit of freedom. Our people will forever remember the martyrs' contributions..."(2)

Promoting the thousand-year-old tradition and fine morality of the nation, the entire Party, people and army have been carrying out many practical activities to pay tribute to heroic martyrs, war invalids, sick soldiers and people with meritorious services to the revolution. Every Vietnamese citizen always feels proud and grateful for the precious values that heroic martyrs, war invalids and sick soldiers have dedicated and sacrificed for the nation.

We always keep in mind that every moment of living in peace and happiness must be exchanged for the blood sacrifice of generations of fathers and brothers. In the two great resistance wars to save the country alone, 1.2 million of the nation's best sons and daughters fell. Up to now, there are still nearly 200,000 martyrs whose remains have not been found, leaving their relatives and families with grief and anticipation to welcome them back; nearly 300,000 graves of martyrs whose identities have not been identified; millions of wounded and sick soldiers have lost a part of their flesh, health and youth. Even in the moments when there are no more gunshots, there are still many people who have silently sacrificed themselves on the border, on remote islands or on rigs, on rocks in the middle of the ocean... to protect the sacred sovereignty of the Fatherland, to preserve the peace of people's lives. Vietnamese history and people will forever remember and be proud of the indomitable will of our ancestors with their immortal "epic poems" to regain peace, independence, freedom, prosperity and happiness for our country.

3. The Party and State of Vietnam have always been consistent in their guiding ideology and in organizing the implementation of regimes and policies for people with meritorious services. Many practical programs and actions such as: Gratitude Fund, building gratitude houses, Comradeship Fund, taking care of Vietnamese Heroic Mothers... have promoted the combined strength of the entire political system, becoming voluntary and self-centered movements and activities among all classes of people. Along with the development of the country, the material and spiritual life of policy beneficiaries and people with meritorious services has been increasingly improved. Activities of gratitude, remembering the source of water and the Movement "The whole people take care of families of war invalids, martyrs and people with meritorious services to the revolution" have been increasingly spread widely and strongly, received the support and response of the community, and become a beautiful cultural feature of the nation. In just over 10 years (from 2013 to 2024), the whole country has mobilized nearly 7,900 billion VND to support families of people with meritorious services; built 67,700 new houses and repaired nearly 45,900 gratitude houses with a total support budget of more than 12,700 billion VND; awarded more than 110,000 savings books to families with policies with an amount of more than 403 billion VND. Currently, the whole country still has more than 2,400 Vietnamese Heroic Mothers who are still alive and are being cared for and supported by organizations. Thanks to the attention of the Party, the State and the efforts of families, up to now, over 99% of households with meritorious services have a standard of living equal to or higher than the average standard of living of the community. The work of reviewing and resolving backlogs in the implementation of preferential policies for people with meritorious services to the revolution has been focused on and achieved many results.

Along with that, war invalids, sick soldiers, martyrs’ relatives, and families of people with revolutionary contributions are also granted health insurance cards, equipped with orthopedic devices, supported to improve housing, exempted from land use fees, supported with housing land, and implemented preferential policies on education and training for their children. Along with the attention of the Party, the State and the community, with the will of self-reliance, war invalids, sick soldiers, families of policy beneficiaries, and families of people with revolutionary contributions always strive to excel in labor, production, business, and do business effectively, becoming shining examples in the community, contributing significantly to the development of the country.

Every cadre, party member, and people, especially the young generation, need to continue to affirm the historical, political, social significance and humanistic values of the morality of "When drinking water, remember its source"; emphasize the fine tradition and gratitude of the whole society towards heroic martyrs, war invalids, sick soldiers, and people with meritorious services to the revolution; affirm and honor the contributions and sacrifices of previous generations as priceless; taking care of war invalids, sick soldiers, and people with meritorious services is the honor and responsibility of all levels, sectors, social organizations, of today's and future generations. Our Party and State always respect the contributions and great sacrifices of our compatriots and soldiers for the Fatherland; at the same time, we always continue to improve policies and laws on preferential treatment for people with meritorious services, mobilizing all social resources so that this work can be carried out better and better.

Lieutenant Colonel, Dr. DO NGOC HANH, Deputy Head of the Department of Marxist-Leninist Philosophy, School of Political Officers


    Source: https://www.qdnd.vn/phong-chong-tu-dien-bien-tu-chuyen-hoa/tran-trong-va-lan-toa-gia-tri-dao-ly-uong-nuoc-nho-nguon-cua-dan-toc-838297