50 years of National Reunification: Youth Volunteers - Living like Steel Flowers

"All for the front line, all to defeat the American invaders"

In 1954, the resistance war against the French colonialists ended in victory, but the country was still divided. Our people simultaneously carried out two strategic tasks: Building socialism in the North and carrying out the people's national democratic revolution in the South, moving towards the goal of national reunification.

The atmosphere of emulation was ignited in all fields and classes, such as the "Three Best" movements in the army, "Gio Dai Phong" in agriculture , "Song Duyen Hai" in industry, "Three Responsibilities" among women. Farmers "Plowed in one hand, gun in the other", workers "Hammers in one hand, gun in the other", students did "Thousands of good deeds against the Americans"... In the North, there was the movement "All for the frontline, all to defeat the American invaders", in the South, there was the movement "Find the Americans and destroy them, grab the enemy's belt and fight", "Fight the Americans to leave, fight the puppets to fall"...

 

The 39th Youth Volunteer Unit opened the Truong Son Road. Photo: Vuong Khanh Hong/VNA

Since 1964, the US imperialists expanded their war of aggression, waged a "local war" in the South, escalated their attacks on the North, and the whole country was filled with the spirit of resistance. Aware of the historical mission and the role and responsibility of the youth, the revolutionary patriotic movement was strong and vibrant among the young generation, spreading throughout the Northern provinces. Vibrant rallies and marches were held throughout villages and towns, shouting slogans such as: "Down with the invading US imperialists", "Resolutely protect the North, liberate the South, and unify the country".

Faced with urgent war requirements, on June 21, 1965, the Prime Minister issued Directive No. 71/TTg-CN on the organization of "Youth Volunteer Teams to fight against the US and save the country". The Directive stated: "To promote the patriotism and revolutionary tradition of the youth in undertaking such difficult but glorious tasks, the Party Central Committee and the Government Council decided to assign the Central Committee of the Labor Youth Union to organize "Youth Volunteer Teams to fight against the US and save the country" to ensure traffic work on important routes...".

Within 10 years, from 1965 to 1975, nearly 290,000 young people joined the youth volunteer force, undertaking various tasks such as opening roads, transporting food, goods and weapons to the southern battlefield, doing forestry work, evacuating warehouses and wharves, providing first aid... The Northern Youth Volunteer Force opened 102 strategic roads with a total length of 4,130km, including extremely important roads such as Road 20-Quyet Thang; Roads 21, 21B, 22B Ha Tinh ... They were also the force that transported over 100,000 tons of weapons, ammunition, and food; filled tens of thousands of bomb craters, defused over 10,000 enemy bombs of all kinds; ensured smooth traffic day and night on over 3,000 km of roads; shot down 15 American planes, destroyed 20 tanks and armored vehicles, served in nearly 1,000 battles... added 16,000 men to the army.

Over 100,000 Youth Volunteers serving the transportation sector have held most of the fierce key points of enemy attacks day and night from North to South, especially at the "fire coordinates" such as: Truong Bon, Dong Loc Junction, Phu La Nhich Pass, A-shaped curve, Heaven's Gate, Hill 37, Xuan Son ferry, Long Dai ferry... places that record the contributions, sacrifices and heroic feats of units, cadres and members of the youth volunteers, forever becoming names that go down in history as symbols of courage, patriotism and heroic revolutionary will of the youth volunteers in the hearts of the people of the whole country. The great movements of the youth volunteers such as "Three ready", "Five volunteer" also became bright torches, illuminating the tradition of patriotism, guiding the spirit of dedication in all classes of people.

 

The youth volunteer team of Bac Thai province leveled mountains and hills to build roads to fight against the US to save the country (1966). Photo: Tran Phac - VNA

"Three ready" and the desire to commit of Northern youth

In 1964, Hanoi Pedagogical University launched the "Three Ready" movement in the school's branches and inter-branches: "Go anywhere the Fatherland needs; Do anything the Party and the people require; Accept any kind of treatment". On August 9, 1964, the Standing Committee of the Hanoi Youth Union decided to change the name and launch the "Three Ready" movement among the entire youth of the capital. The "Three Ready" movement was like a flame that ignited the spirit of voluntary dedication of the young generation, especially among students in the North, with three main contents:

- Ready to fight, fight bravely and ready to join the army (main force troops, local troops, militia and self-defense forces).

- Ready to overcome all difficulties, promote production, work and study in any situation.

- Ready to go anywhere, do anything when the country needs.

With the spirit of "as long as the country exists, we will fight the enemy", the "Three Ready" movement has raised a wave of young people volunteering to go to war. The statistics do not fully describe the sacrifice and enthusiasm of a generation and always make us admire: within a month of launching the movement, more than 1.5 million young people registered; nearly 90% of university students in Hanoi wrote applications to be ready to leave the classroom to go to war. From 1965 to 1972, about 30,000 students, lecturers from more than 30 universities and high schools in the North directly joined military units. The baggage they brought to the battlefield of life and death was not only guns and ammunition but also dreams, youthful ambitions, and aspirations and beliefs in a free future for their homeland.

On September 6, 1971, the biggest military parade took place right in the courtyards of many universities. In his diary "Forever 20", the martyr - student of Nguyen Van Thac University recorded the clear details of that historic day. Three thousand Hanoi students marched on a day when Hanoi was covered in rain. He had heard the national anthem many times, the national flag was so familiar, but only then did he clearly and deeply feel that it was his own blood...

The image of thousands of Hanoi boys and girls loudly reciting the oath "Three ready", "sharing the fire with the South", and setting out to save the country is an indelible mark of Hanoi's youth, contributing to a glorious and heroic historical period of a generation of young people in the resistance war.

 

Giving Truong Son sticks to young people who are going to fight the American invaders. Photo: Van Bao - VNA

"Three Ready" has become one of the largest revolutionary action movements of Vietnamese youth in the 20th century, creating the largest volunteer army in the history of the nation's resistance against foreign invaders. More than 5 million youth union members participated in the movement, of which female youth made up the majority. Nearly 1.5 million young elite children of the country fell with the fire of dedication still burning in their hearts, tens of thousands of young people left a part of their blood and bones on the fierce battlefield. The heroic epic of a dedicated generation, written with courage and blood, was sung and will forever echo in the flow of national history.

"Three ready" was launched at the right time and was the opening movement in the resistance war against America, saving the country. It was this opening and timely nature that gathered the youth and spread, opening up many other movements such as the "Three Virtuous" women's movement in the North and the "Five Volunteers" movement of the youth in the South.

"Year of Volunteering" calls on thousands of Southern youth

Along with the "Three Readies" movement of Northern youth, the "Five Volunteers" movement of Southern youth created great strength, motivating and calling on Southern youth to overcome difficulties and hardships; defeat the invasion plot of American imperialism and its lackeys; and determine to liberate the South and unify the country.

The "Five Volunteers" movement was launched in March 1965 with 5 contents:

- Charge to destroy as much enemy force as possible;

- Volunteer to join the army and participate in guerrilla warfare;

- Volunteer to be a civilian laborer and youth volunteer to serve the front line;

- Volunteer for political struggle and against conscription;

- Volunteer agricultural production in farmers' association.

 

Youth volunteers of Team 32 signed the Letter of Determination. Photo: Duc Lien - VNA

Since then, the "Five Volunteers" movement has grown stronger and stronger, becoming a call to arms and thousands of young people in the South to overcome all difficulties and hardships to fight and win. From the opening battle of Van Tuong, young people, together with the army and people in all localities, have created many rich and bold fighting methods, defeating all invasion plots of the US imperialists and their henchmen, such as "Cu Chi, the land of steel" with tunnels across the enemy, "Quang Nam, the brave and resilient leader, took the lead in destroying the US", "Long An, the people fight the enemy"... Young heroes with great intelligence such as Phan Hanh Son, Ho Van Men, Nguyen Van Len, have become representative names of a "Generation of heroes who gloriously defeated the US". The emulation movement to win the titles of "Brave American Destroyer", "Brave Victory Hero", "Brave Vehicle Destroyer, Airplane Shooter" also attracted a large number of union members and young people in the localities to participate, leading to the birth of youth fighting groups: "Determined Death Youth Team", "Determined Victory Youth Team", "Uprising Youth Team"...

Since 1966, the "Five Volunteers" movement was pushed to a new level with the spirit of "Raising high the Five Volunteers flag, the youth of the city took advantage of the victory to completely defeat the US-Puppet", contributing significantly to breaking the "search and destroy" and "pacification" plan of the US-Puppet in the dry season of 1966 - 1967.

The "Five Volunteers" movement entered the fighting life of Southern youth in many diverse and flexible forms such as opposing conscription, propagating the revolution to the people, volunteering to supply the battlefield, joining the guerrilla force, destroying evil, breaking shackles, serving the battlefield, and at the same time developing the struggle in urban areas.

Along with the "Three Ready" movement, the "Five Volunteers" has aroused and promoted the highest spirit of shock of the youth in both parts of the country, thereby creating extraordinary miracles. The youth volunteers, with their pioneering and enthusiastic shock movements, have made an important contribution to the overall victory of the resistance war against the American imperialists, completely liberating the South, bringing unity, independence and freedom to the Fatherland today.

Thu Hanh/VNA

Source: https://baotanglichsu.vn/vi/Articles/3097/75293/50-nam-thong-nhat-djat-nuoc-thanh-nien-xung-phong-song-nhu-nhung-djoa-hoa-thep.html