The history of our country records countless feats of building and defending the country of our people over thousands of years. History leaves behind heroic songs about the country struggling in the fire of bullets, but rising up in glory. Generation after generation, the troops go to war, the wives and mothers in the homeland work hard to nurture the crops with their salty sweat to support the front line not only with food, but also with hope. Each person embroiders on their chest the belief in a day of peace. The wife sends her husband off embroiders a promise to wait. The children go to war, saying goodbye to their mother, embroidering filial piety in their hearts.

In the resounding and emotional flow of memories, the country is always proud of the sacrifice of the people, of those who are willing to offer their children and husbands to the Fatherland. Young men of eighteen and twenty years old were ready to step forward, rushing into the rain of bombs and bullets to protect their beloved land. How can we tell all the pain that has been imprinted on the faces, as thick as the tears that have sunk into the hearts of small women with great patriotism. There are heroic Vietnamese mothers who have offered their husbands, then their three beloved children. Every night, mothers still toss and turn waiting, a lifetime of sewing by the wall, while the flickering night lamp still warms a loving place. Please mothers, rest assured, because that sacrifice is not in vain. That sacrifice will continue to be rekindled whenever the country needs it, like the hot blood that flows in every citizen.

The Fatherland has called the name of every Vietnamese child. My heart is excited, thrilled, remembering countless songs and melodies that have blended with history, with the ups and downs of the country's historical flow. "I am listening to the Fatherland calling my name/ With the sound of waves from Truong Sa and Hoang Sa crashing into the rocks/ The waves roll up the shape of the country/ An inch of sea cut off, thousands of inches of land in pain" (Nguyen Phan Que Mai).

Anyone who has been to the sea, anyone who has been to Hoang Sa, Truong Sa... all feel the sacredness of peace. Our people have united, joined hands to protect the Fatherland, and will forever maintain that spirit, promoting strength to maintain the sovereignty of our homeland's seas and islands and the integrity of our borders, like the immortal spirit of National Day.

The stream of memories full of pain and pride always reminds young people of the merits of generations of ancestors, previous generations who shed blood and sacrificed for the peaceful days like today. For each mountain shape, each river to flow peacefully, each roof to be happy and warm. Just the most recent day, there were parents who lost their children, wives and children who lost their pillars. The men who performed their duties and passed away too suddenly, behind them were children and young wives crying their eyes out. That pain awakened millions of Vietnamese hearts, reminding each of us not to be negligent, not to forget the merits of those who still perform their duties every day at the border, in the islands or on special missions. That pain also wrenched, urging in young people to be grateful to those who have contributed with specific actions, joining hands to build the future.

Yes, how can we forget those who sacrificed their youth to make history, to make the name of the country. From the highlands to the lowlands, from the plains to the sea, everywhere there are shining examples of wounded soldiers, brave in the fight for food and clothing, to revive the family economy. But for many veterans, life is still too simple, hard, unable to recover because the painful wounds on their chests never fully heal.

I have returned to Dien Bien many times to visit historical sites, where the Dien Bien Phu Campaign “resounded throughout the five continents, shook the world”, to be proud of my ancestors with the tradition and culture of fighting foreign invaders, as well as the outstanding intelligence of General Vo Nguyen Giap. I have also traveled the Tay Tien road in Quang Dung’s poem, to see the real Tay Tien road in real life also “uphill, winding and steep”, and to feel the desolate atmosphere of a difficult time that my ancestors’ generation had gone through. I have also visited the road transporting rice from Thanh Hoa to Dien Bien Phu. Of course, it cannot be complete and there are places where it is broken, because today’s road is different from the past, with villages springing up, but also to feel the atmosphere of the time when our army and people were united in heading to the frontline, creating a rebellious strength. They were very young. They, with spirit and responsibility, voluntarily transported food and ammunition from the rear to the frontline by human power. They knew the road was extremely difficult and dangerous, but they still committed themselves and were determined to one day win.

Proud and grateful. I love my homeland, my Fatherland with the simple farmers who made history. I love and cherish the roads built with the blood and sweat of my compatriots, now becoming roads for construction, economic development, and a prosperous life. Today, being in Muong Lat, I suddenly felt like I saw tens of thousands of people marching to battle, carrying with them the indomitable spirit towards Dien Bien Phu as if going to a festival.

Time passed and the country grew. Those who inherited the values ​​actively spread the values, built gratitude programs, established charity funds, built cultural houses on remote islands... Many generations of young people came to burn incense for the martyrs in the Gac Ma naval battle, sharing the pain and loss of the martyrs' relatives. The tears of the twenties cried for those men back then, the young men who fell without a lover. I told myself, we will be the ones to uphold our homeland.

Nguyen Van Hoc

Source: https://baohanam.com.vn/xa-hoi/-trong-long-tu-hao-dan-toc-160451.html