At 10:00 a.m. on August 24, room number 7, Department of Central Cadre Care (A11), Military Hospital 175 was bustling and crowded more than usual. With no hospital beds or smell of medicine, the room became a special place - the place where the ceremony to award the 80-year Party membership badge to Major General Hoang Dung, former Chief of the General Staff Office, Ministry of National Defense was held.

Party badge on the chest of a loyal party member

At the ceremony, comrade Nguyen Phuoc Loc, Deputy Secretary of the City Party Committee, Secretary of the Party Delegation, Chairman of the Vietnam Fatherland Front Committee of Ho Chi Minh City kindly inquired about his health and presented the 80-year Party membership badge to Major General Hoang Dung.

At the age of 97, Major General Hoang Dung's eyesight and hearing are no longer sharp. His daughter always stands next to him, leaning close to his ear to convey the greetings of comrade Nguyen Phuoc Loc. He nods, trying to speak slowly but very loudly and clearly: "This is the second time the leaders of the Ho Chi Minh City Party Committee have come to present the Party Badge to me. I am very proud!"

When comrade Nguyen Phuoc Loc expressed his gratitude for his contributions to the country, Major General Hoang Dung was moved: “I only regret one thing: this year, I am 80 years old in the Party but I can no longer do anything for the Party. I feel very guilty, I apologize and promise to do exactly what Party members are not allowed to do…”.

Holding the 80-year Party badge tightly, Major General Hoang Dung looked at his children and grandchildren and advised: "You, my children and grandchildren, are still young and must not forget the noble value of the Party badge and these special days with your fathers and grandfathers."

Honored and extremely moved is what comrade Ha Nhat (99 years old, Party member of Ward 15 Party Committee, Binh Thanh District, Ho Chi Minh City) expressed when he was honored to receive the 80-year Party membership badge on the occasion of the 134th birthday anniversary of President Ho Chi Minh.

That day, the Binh Thanh District Party Committee held a ceremony to award the Party Badge to comrade Ha Nhat right at his home; and Deputy Secretary of the City Party Committee, Chairwoman of the Ho Chi Minh City People's Council Nguyen Thi Le came to congratulate and solemnly pin the Party Badge on the chest of this loyal Party member, wholeheartedly devoted to the Party and the people.

That day, many children and grandchildren of comrade Ha Nhat gathered at his house to congratulate their father and grandfather. 80 years of Party membership is a milestone marking the struggle of a loyal communist, recognizing his long journey of always striving and dedicating his efforts to the process of building and developing the Party organization.

On this occasion, he sent comrade Nguyen Thi Le a souvenir, which is the handwriting of General Vo Nguyen Giap, to be sent to the Ho Chi Minh City Museum for preservation. The handwriting is a compliment from General Vo Nguyen Giap for the work of comrade Ha Nhat and the Vietnamese military industry that he has always cherished and preserved.

Not ashamed of Uncle Ho's teachings

“Remembering the day I stood under the Party flag and recited the oath 40 years ago, I feel that I am not ashamed of my heart and the teachings of President Ho Chi Minh,” Professor, Doctor of Science Tran Ngoc Them (72 years old, Party member of the Party Committee of the University and College Bloc of Ho Chi Minh City), emotionally shared.

He and 12 party members in the Party Committee of the bloc were honored to receive the Party Badge on the occasion of the 94th anniversary of the founding of the Communist Party of Vietnam. For Professor, Dr. Tran Ngoc Them, being in the Party is a great honor, the pride of his life. With that pride, he has always strived to contribute his strength and intelligence to the development of the Party organization, contributing to building a more prosperous and beautiful country.

“I will always be absolutely loyal to the Party's revolutionary goals and ideals, which are also the ideals that I have chosen for the past 45 years and throughout my life,” said Mr. Nguyen Huu Tho, a party member who received the 45-year Party membership badge on the occasion of National Day, September 2.

Mr. Nguyen Huu Tho (born in 1954, residing in Tan Son Nhi Ward, Tan Phu District, Ho Chi Minh City), was born and raised in a farming family in Ha Tinh Province. On December 5, 1979, he was honored to join the Party. During his work, he was assigned to the shock team to build the Long Xuyen Quadrangle Economic Zone to reclaim, restore, and transform cajuput forests and acid sulfate soils into rice fields.

Upon receiving the assignment, he devoted his youth and passion to contributing to building the economic zone in Hon Dat district, Kien Giang province into a key high-yield rice growing area. After 40 years of working in the agricultural sector, in 2014, he retired and continued to work as Secretary of the Party Cell of Ward 6 (now Ward 13), Tan Son Nhi Ward.

Despite his old age and declining health, Mr. Tho always wants to work. He and the neighborhood party cell have carried out many movements to build a cultural neighborhood, so that the neighborhood is always the leading flag of Tan Son Nhi ward. "It's just a pity that I don't have enough health to continue contributing," Mr. Tho confided.

THU HOAI - HONG HAI