Our nation's destiny is in our own hands.

The homeland—a single, unified land—emerged with the footsteps of the soldiers. I thought about this during the days and nights I spent marching with our army units, attacking enemy bases and defensive lines from the Truong Son Mountains to Hue, Da Nang, and all the way along Central Vietnam to the Independence Palace on the afternoon of April 30, 1975.

In the final days of the war against the US, the Liberation Army faced a scene of devastation across the country. Cities, towns, villages, bridges, train stations, and every stretch of road... all were ruined, stained black by bombs, bullets, and the ravages of time. Even the Truong Son forest was blackened by the charred remains of large trees. In enemy-occupied areas, barbed wire, sandbags, and black concrete were densely strung across the enemy's defensive lines, both inside and outside... And it was silent, dark, and cold. We entered Hue at night; both major roads along the Perfume River and the Citadel were deserted, not a soul in sight, not a single light. The Bach Dang road along the Han River ( Da Nang ) was the same.

But just a few days after our troops advanced, scattered groups of civilians, filled with apprehension, gradually returned. Soon after, crowds of families arrived, traveling together on rickshaws and motorbikes. Liberation was real, peace was real! Hue and Da Nang burst into the air with faces of people and forests of flags. Stepping over piles of discarded uniforms and weapons left by the South Vietnamese army, seeing them shirtless or wearing civilian clothes, I understood that they too were liberated. And there, and there, groups of people from Duy Xuyen, Tam Ky, Quang Ngai , Binh Dinh... came out to the streets to wave goodbye to our convoy heading south. Behind them were vast, overgrown fields and makeshift huts constructed from old corrugated iron sheets. The land had been liberated, returning to its rightful homeland after long years of abandonment, confinement by strategic hamlets and resettlement areas ravaged by bombs and bullets, and contaminated by Agent Orange/dioxin.

Illustration: MANH TIEN

***

War is bloodshed, separation, and devastation. Nearly ten years of fighting French colonialism, then over twenty years of fighting American imperialism – several generations, a very long time. For many in enemy-occupied areas, war seemed endless. But for the vast majority of cadres, Party members, Youth Union members, patriotic citizens, and millions of our soldiers, even during the most brutal years, they remained steadfast in their belief that the final victory would come. Their faith in the Party, President Ho Chi Minh , and the great national unity, overcoming all hardships and sacrifices, multiplied the boundless strength of people's war, achieving every victory, big and small, throughout the long struggle for national salvation. Thirty years of unwavering perseverance led to the swift March and April of the great Spring victory in 1975. The strategic blow at Buon Ma Thuot, the lightning-fast pursuit of the enemy, and the even more rapid and audacious advance of armored units, simultaneously advancing and attacking the enemy, shook and collapsed the entire enemy battle formation throughout the South. Tonight in Quang Nam , tomorrow night in Quang Ngai. Last night in Phan Rang, tonight in southern Phan Thiet...

Sitting with the soldiers on the vehicles advancing through the night until dawn, the towns and villages unfolded before our eyes. Everything was intact. Although enemy planes still circled overhead and enemy warships still shelled our advance route along National Highway 1, our soldiers suffered few casualties. The same was true for the enemy; seeing their generals and officers at the "Phan Rang front line" raising their hands in surrender while their uniforms remained untouched, we understood they hadn't had time to react. And then there was Saigon and the Independence Palace, too.

That's right, speed led to beautiful victories, minimizing casualties and damage to cities. That's the way to fight, the art of ending war, and also the profound humanity and compassion of those who fought for justice. That's also the full meaning of the great victory in the Spring, of the Ho Chi Minh Campaign , and the complete victory on April 30th; the full meaning and complete victory are even more complete when we liberate and take control of the Truong Sa archipelago and the southeastern and southwestern seas and islands of the Fatherland.

***

It was no coincidence that the most frequent questions I received from people in Saigon revolved around education in the North. On the first day after liberation, I visited several places where many people gathered, including the area around the universities known as the "Iron Triangle," because it had been a hotbed of student and youth struggle against the puppet regime. At the Faculty of Literature, students invited me to stand on the podium to answer their questions along with those of other lecturers and intellectuals. "With the Americans bombing day and night, how did you manage to study? What were your living conditions like?"; "Did you get to study much science and technology, foreign languages, or go abroad for further education?"... After liberation, peace, and national reunification, it was natural for people to be concerned about the progress and development of the country. Many former officials of the puppet regime and Saigon intellectuals even told me they believed Vietnam would become rich and prosperous because of its many talented people and abundant resources. With the North and South working together, the country would move forward.

That thought, that dream, was so right and beautiful. However, the fate of the nation was full of twists and turns. As a reporter for the People's Army Newspaper, I quickly learned that Pol Pot's forces had seized several of our islands in the Southwest. Meanwhile, the country had not yet recovered from the war, was surrounded, embargoed, and faced numerous difficulties and shortages. The people of Ho Chi Minh City had to share everything from rice and food to every bit of detergent and every meter of cloth. Then, fire broke out again in the southwestern and northern border regions. More bloodshed among soldiers and civilians. Again, every sack of rice and every load of dried fish had to be carefully gathered and supplied to the front lines. Furthermore, with the continued existence of the bureaucratic, wartime-style subsidy system, the practice of "blocking rivers and markets" continued...

But the nation's destiny was in our hands, and everything was gradually overcome and resolved. Then came the reform process. After just one or two rice harvests, the whole country had enough to eat. Ration coupons became a thing of the past, and markets gradually sprang up in every alley, street, and village. There was something miraculous, something swift. Reform led our country into the 21st century as a stable nation in a world of so much change and upheaval; a nation with a market economy, exporting all kinds of agricultural and industrial goods; a nation with connections, normalization, and equal relations with countries near and far around the world.

***

In truth, although I had traveled extensively throughout the North and South during the long years of the liberation war and the battles to defend the Fatherland, helping Cambodia escape genocide, I had hardly ever seen the beauty of the country's regions. It was only later, during business trips or vacations in peacetime, that I was able to admire the lush green countryside and the vast seas and islands... The inherent beauty of nature, enhanced by human effort and the scientific perspective of the times, became even more captivating. The white sands of Central Vietnam were transformed into dragon fruit plantations, wind farms, and solar power plants. Modern industrial zones and tourist areas also emerged. The barren, rocky regions were now transformed into factories, workshops, and warm urban areas. Con Dao, when I accompanied the Navy to welcome political prisoners back after liberation, could not be called beautiful; it was just rows of cramped, suffocating prison camps. Phu Quoc was the same. And then, today, those islands of captivity have become a dreamy paradise. And where is the most beautiful view of Saigon-Ho Chi Minh City? One day in early May 1975, I didn't have that feeling the first time I went on aboard an American warship, a war trophy of our army, to film along the Saigon River with the filmmakers. It was the same many times afterward. It must be now, when the magnificent high-rise buildings are silhouetted against the blue sky. The "Pearl of the Far East" is revealed here...

Thankfully, these days, we "old, gray-haired soldiers" are able to both recount the great victory of spring and express our feelings about the tremendous changes the country has undergone over the past 50 years. Some things seem to reappear on every journey. The revolutionary resistance was a relentless offensive. Innovation is a continuous process. If the rapid pace of the past was about seizing opportunities, making "time a force," today we return to the rhythm of peacetime, returning to the original meaning of the proverb "time is money." To break free from backwardness, stagnation, and the middle-income trap, we must and can definitely accelerate the pace of innovation even further. Liberation now means liberating potential, human resources, and material resources. A single day now represents how many meters of highways are built, how many high-rise buildings are constructed, how many homes are provided for the poor, how many units of product are produced in each economic sector, how many changes are made in digital transformation, in streamlining the administrative apparatus, in preventing and treating old and new diseases... Now, an hour, a minute is the speed of action, of responding to global political and economic changes... "The nation's destiny has arrived, the dawn shines everywhere, building a bright and prosperous nation for generations to come."

The wartime song "Marching Towards Saigon" resonates with historical memories. Facing the new challenges of the times, we possess the invincible legacy created by the revolution and resistance: independence, self-reliance, and self-strength; the destiny of the nation is in our hands, in our own hands. In the eyes of us old soldiers, each day and each month of peace and reconstruction is a worthy reward for the countless sacrifices, losses, and the undying heroism of the resistance to save the nation.

Essay by Mạnh Hùng

Source: https://baodaknong.vn/van-nuoc-tu-tay-ta-251121.html