Dr. Vo Toan Trung and many overseas Vietnamese happily welcomed General Secretary and President To Lam on his official visit to the French Republic on October 3, 2024.

The great victory of Spring 1975 is a testament to the strength of national spirit, patriotism and solidarity. But above all, the healing of the Vietnamese people after so much pain and loss to become a solid national unity, no matter where they live in the world, is the most complete unity.

The unity originating from the humane nature of the Vietnamese people, together with the consistent correct policies of the Communist Party of Vietnam since the day of liberation, has contributed to bringing our country to great successes over the past 50 years.

When the war to liberate the South took place, I was still young and only witnessed the B52 attack in the sky of Hanoi. My memories of the battles to liberate the South were only through the Voice of Vietnam radio.

I always remember Uncle Ho's New Year greetings in 1969:

Last year was a glorious victory.

This year the frontline will surely win even bigger.

For independence, for freedom

Fight to make the Americans leave, fight to make the puppets fall

Forward! Soldiers and compatriots.

North - South reunion, what spring is happier?

Then in early April 1975, news kept coming in: we were fighting the enemy in Buon Me Thuot and the enemy began to abandon the highlands and retreat to gather around Saigon. The Party and the army decided to launch a general offensive to liberate the South and unify the country. News of victory kept coming in on Liberation Radio. Every day there was news that we had liberated the provinces. The joy of victory made everyone happy, everyone's face was radiant.

Then one day, Liberation Radio announced that we had completely liberated the South, our country was completely unified, our mountains and rivers had returned to one realm. The wish of the entire nation had come true. After 30 years of arduous fighting with many sacrifices and losses. Now we had won. Boundless joy filled the air. Everyone was excited and elated. We stood under the electric poles to listen to the radio talk about the victory without getting bored. The song "As if Uncle Ho were here on the day of great victory" resounded everywhere. On the day of victory, the day of joyful reunion, why did tears flow? That was true.

That year, I had just passed the entrance exam to Hanoi Medical University and my father, a cadre from the South who had regrouped in the North, took me back to my hometown in Quang Ngai. The trip still left me with many emotions.

Take the train from Hang Co station to Vinh, get off the train, then take a bus from there to Ha Tinh, Ngang Pass, Quang Binh. Crossing Hien Luong bridge, at that time I kept imagining the time when the country was still divided at both ends of the bridge. And the movie "17th Parallel Day and Night" came back to my memory with its endless struggles and sacrifices. Crossing Hien Luong bridge to the other side is Quang Tri.

What I cannot forget is the image of bomb craters everywhere. From Ngang Pass, where no place was left intact, to Dong Hoi and Quang Tri. All were vast fields, full of bomb scars. Arriving in Hue and Da Nang, going north, there were convoys of trucks full of soldiers. Everyone was happy because they were probably going to see their families again after so many days apart. They looked so ordinary and simple, with only a backpack and a gun. They were the people who contributed to the heroic history of Vietnam.

Arriving in Quang Ngai, looking at the road from Duc Pho town to my hometown, it is a 7km long dirt road. That is the road where I saw with my own eyes the fierceness of the war because all around were only bushes and ulcers from bomb craters. My father told me that this place, before when he was still in school, was a forest and people were even afraid of tigers. Only then did I understand how fierce the war in Vietnam was. The number of bombs that the US army dropped on Quang Tri during the 81 days of fighting was equal to 7 atomic bombs dropped on Hiroshima. Thus, up to 14.35 million tons of bombs were used in the war in Vietnam, a huge number with a terrible level of destruction.

Arriving at the village, where there used to be beautiful wooden houses, now there is only dirt and my uncle's son has managed to build a simple house with thatched roof and mud walls. Only the ancient mango tree remains, somehow it has withstood all the bombs and bullets. The mango tree is so tall that you can still see it from Highway 1. Maybe it was luck, but no one can explain it.

My father met my aunt, who was his real sister but called her aunt number seven (my father was number eight). The joy of reunion was indescribable. Hand in hand, everyone's eyes were filled with tears. My aunt hugged me tightly, her voice filled with surprise: Oh my god, you're so grown up. If only my grandparents were still alive to see their children and grandchildren return, they would be so happy. But unfortunately, they have all passed away. She said: they were all lost during the American sweep. My grandmother was shot and injured by an American helicopter and lost a lot of blood. There was no one to bandage her so she died from blood loss. As for my grandfather, he was sent to a concentration camp, with no one to take care of him so he also died, partly from illness and partly from sadness.

After liberation, I met many Vietnamese people living in Europe and America. There were people who still had prejudices about Vietnam and were worried and did not dare to return home. I still said: Come back home to play. The country has been unified and in the country, the Party and the State call for building a great national unity bloc, no matter where you are, you are all descendants of Lac Hong. When you return, you will see that our country has changed a lot, everyone is free to invest, do business, live, buy houses...

A Korean friend told me: you are so lucky to have unified the country. We have not had that luck. I think that the determination to unify the country with the enormous sacrifices of many generations of Vietnamese people was great. But when they won, the victors put their guns aside, started to rebuild the country, and above all, strengthened national unity. A unified Vietnam is the country of all Vietnamese people, no matter where they live in the world.

The greatness of the Vietnamese people and character is also reflected in the fact that Vietnam is a friend to everyone in the world. When Vietnam and the United States signed a comprehensive strategic partnership and the visits to Vietnam by US Presidents as well as the General Secretary of the Communist Party of Vietnam in the United States or the recent direct phone calls between the General Secretary and the US President are a testament to Vietnam's unity and the world's recognition of an independent and prosperous Vietnam.

The spirit of humanity of Vietnam has been a thread running through it since ancient times. Remember Nguyen Trai: after defeating the enemy, we spared their lives and provided them with food, horses and carriages to return home. King Quang Trung won and then came to make peace. It is thanks to the policies reflecting the humanity of Vietnam from our ancestors to the present day that our country has always maintained its independence, its mountains and rivers are stable, and its country is increasingly rich and powerful. The respect and position of the country is increasingly growing in the international arena.

Proud of the victory of liberating the South and unifying the country, we do not forget the days of hardship and sacrifice of many generations for national independence. We are determined to unite and mobilize all Vietnamese intelligence around the world to build a strong Vietnam.

Entering the era of becoming a developed country with the goal of building Vietnamese science and technology, Vietnamese intellectuals abroad are determined to bring their wisdom and experience to contribute to the sustainable development of Vietnam.

Source: https://nhandan.vn/viet-nam-sang-mai-voi-khat-vong-hoa-binh-thong-nhat-va-tu-confident-buoc-vao-ky-nguyen-vuon-minh-post875958.html