60 years since the Navy won its first battle: A symbol of indomitable will

Victory is forever a symbol of Vietnam's indomitable will, an affirmation of the will to dare to fight, to be determined to fight and to know how to defeat the American invaders of the Navy and the entire army and people.

Art program to celebrate the anniversary. (Photo: Trong Duc/VNA)

On the morning of August 2 in Hai Phong, the Party Committee and the Navy Command held a ceremony to celebrate the 60th anniversary of the first victory of the Vietnam People's Navy and the people and army of the North (August 2 and 5, 1964 - August 2 and 5, 2024).

In his commemorative speech, Vice Admiral Tran Thanh Nghiem, Commander of the Navy, said that in early 1964, in order to proactively deal with the plots and tricks of the US imperialists to "escalate" the war and protect the socialist North, the Party Central Committee, the Government, directly the Central Military Commission, and the Ministry of National Defense entrusted the Party Committee and the Navy Command to urgently prepare all aspects to fight to protect the sea, coastal lines, ports, river mouths and bases, ready to join the army and people of the North to defeat the US invaders who escalated their attacks on the North.

Under the direct leadership of the Central Military Commission and the General Command, on August 2 and 5, 1964, the Vietnam People's Navy went into combat for the first time, closely coordinating with air defense forces, armed police, and local coastal military and civilian forces to fight bravely, driving the American imperialist destroyer Madoc out of our waters, shooting down 8 planes, injuring many others, and capturing the first American pilot in the waters and skies of the North.

This activity opened a glorious history of fighting and victory for the Vietnam People's Navy, contributing to encouraging the entire Party, people and army to be determined to fight to protect the North, promote the revolutionary war to liberate the South and unify the country.

The victory on August 2 and 5, 1964 was the first typical victory of the Vietnam People's Navy and also the first victory of the army and people of the North in fighting against the destructive war of American imperialism.

This victory will forever be a symbol of Vietnam's indomitable will, an affirmation of the Navy's will to dare to fight, to be determined to fight and to know how to defeat the American invaders in particular and of our entire army and people in general. This is also a victory of the spiritual strength of the entire nation, of the intelligence and military art of Vietnam...

The 60th anniversary of the victory of the first battle of the Vietnam People's Navy and the people and army of the North. (Photo: Trong Duc/VNA)

Speaking at the ceremony, Senior Lieutenant General Pham Hoai Nam, Deputy Minister of National Defense, emphasized that this was a victory of the heroic fighting spirit and selfless sacrifice of our compatriots and comrades.

The Party, State, Central Military Commission, and Ministry of National Defense always remember and pay tribute to the heroic martyrs, wounded and sick soldiers, martyrs' families, leaders, commanders, officers, soldiers, and people who participated in the fight to achieve this historic victory.

Senior Lieutenant General Pham Hoai Nam suggested that the Navy continue to promote its tradition to well perform a number of tasks in the coming time, such as: strengthening leadership and directing the strict implementation of the Party's guidelines and the State's laws and policies on military and civilian national defense and protection of the Fatherland; building a revolutionary, disciplined, elite and modern Navy.

The Navy regularly does a good job of political and ideological education, building the mettle and determination to protect the sovereignty of the sea and islands, being flexible and agile in effectively handling situations, having confidence in Vietnam's weapons and military art, daring to fight and determined to defeat all enemies and hostile forces; focusing on building a politically strong Navy in any circumstance, always steadfast, steadfast, and absolutely loyal to the Party, the Fatherland, and the people.

The Navy proactively coordinates closely with other forces, grasps and accurately forecasts the situation, especially the situation at sea; promptly advises and accurately handles situations, avoids being passive and surprised, improves the quality of advice, force building and naval operations, constantly improves quality, level, combat readiness, masters modern equipment, meets mission requirements, is ready to fight and win right from the first battle to firmly ensure the sacred sovereignty of the Fatherland.

Strengthen the core role in propagating about seas and islands, supporting fishermen in preventing and overcoming natural disasters, searching and rescuing, building national defense economic zones, actively building socio-economy and some other directives.

On behalf of all Navy Veterans and forces that directly participated in the battle and achieved the Victory on August 2 and 5, 1964, Lieutenant Colonel Nguyen Quoc Chung, former gunner of ship 184 who directly participated in the battle on August 2 and 5, 1964, expressed his excitement at the strong development of the Navy after nearly 7 decades of building, fighting, winning and growing.

Lieutenant Colonel Nguyen Quoc Chung believes that today's generation of Navy officers and soldiers will uphold the tradition of "Winning the first battle," strive to study, practice, and constantly improve their knowledge and comprehensive capacity, especially in science and technology, and master modern weapons and technical equipment to serve the cause of protecting the sovereignty of the sea and islands of the Fatherland./.

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