The 3-generation tradition of female soldiers participating in the parade protecting the A80 military flag

Professional Lieutenant Chu Quynh Phuong of the Vietnam Women's Peacekeeping Unit - Photo: NVCC

If her grandfather walked on the day of national victory in 1975, her uncle followed suit in the following major holidays, now Quynh Phuong continues that tradition in A80.

Three generations walk together under the national flag

Professional Lieutenant Chu Quynh Phuong (from Hanoi ), currently working at the Equipment and Supplies Department - Military Medical Academy.

Attending the parade celebrating the 80th anniversary of the August Revolution and National Day 209 (A80), she took on the position of flag guard in the Vietnamese female peacekeeping force.

The love for the green uniform and family tradition have urged Quynh Phuong to pursue a military career. For her, every step is not only the sacred duty of a soldier, but also a way to convey pride, patriotism and gratitude to previous generations.

Quynh Phuong is proud that her family has a three-generation tradition of participating in the parade - Photo: NVCC

Chu Quynh Phuong's grandfather once participated in the historic parade on the occasion of National Day September 2, 1975 when the country had just been reunited after the day the country was completely unified.

In 2000, her uncle continued the tradition by participating in the parade celebrating the 55th anniversary of the August Revolution and National Day on September 2. And in 2025, Quynh Phuong is the third generation to continue that honor at A80.

“Being able to continue the family tradition makes me extremely proud, and at the same time reminds me to try harder,” she said.

Before continuing the glorious mission of A80, Quynh Phuong's family has always been her strong support. When she received the decision to participate in the important mission of the Fatherland, Phuong was both happy and worried.

Happy because this is a great honor, only happens once every 40 years, to stand in the historic parade formation. But mixed with the pride is the anxiety of a wife, a mother of two young children, and the responsibility of taking care of her elderly grandparents.

However, he encouraged Phuong: “You are the daughter-in-law of Military Region 3. This time your unit has been reinforced for the female peacekeeping force under the responsibility of Military Region 3, so you must try even harder and uphold the family tradition. Your children are taken care of by grandparents and parents on both sides, so you can rest assured to work and complete your tasks well.”

During the training process, he and his family also visited and gave Phuong more strength to raise his will and determination to successfully complete this task.

Strong will, determined to complete the mission A80

To have a beautiful formation and synchronized steps on parade day, Phuong and his teammates had to practice 8 hours a day, "overcoming the sun and rain".

There were times when Phuong got injured due to intense training, fainted from heatstroke after standing for hours in the hot sun. But she always told herself: “If today is not perfect, tomorrow must be better than yesterday. If my teammates can do it, I must do it too.”

Quynh Phuong (left) and teammates carry out mission A80 - Photo: NVCC

When her practice time was not regular and beautiful, Phuong practiced more outside of class. Her health was still limited, so she trained more physically. Every day after practice, Phuong walked about 10km around the unit, both to increase her endurance and to relax her mind.

With that determination, Quynh Phuong was trusted by the commander to take on the responsibility of holding a gun to protect the right flag.

Phuong’s most memorable experience during the training was the sun protection masks. To protect their skin from the harsh sunlight, the women in the team had to use many types of masks and sun protection masks.

“In the early days, every night when I went to sleep, I dreamed of the women wearing masks smiling at me,” Phuong recalled.

As the army marched through the sea of red flags with yellow stars, cheers echoed on both sides of the road, Phuong was extremely proud and grateful to the generations of ancestors who had fallen so that today we can have such a beautiful peace.

“It feels like going back to those important historical days, to better understand the military-civilian relationship and the ideal of 'For the people, forget yourself, sacrifice for the people' that our army always upholds,” Phuong was moved.

Phuong said that the Military Medical Academy where she works has many military medical officers who volunteered to reinforce field hospitals. From that example, she hopes that students, especially students of the Military Medical Academy, will strive to train and improve themselves more, to bring the image of military doctors, the image of Uncle Ho's soldiers to the international community.

Source: https://tuoitre.vn/truyen-thong-3-doi-tham-gia-dieu-binh-cua-nu-quan-nhan-bao-ve-quan-ky-a80-20250901095022566.htm