60th Anniversary of Ham Rong Victory (April 3, 4, 1965)

The victory of Ham Rong is the “immortal epic” of the Vietnamese people in the Ho Chi Minh era. The confrontation between “two regimes, two armies, two ideologies of justice and injustice” is a powerful proof of the victory of justice and conscience of the times. Then, the spirit of determination to win at the Ham Rong front that day will become an immortal spiritual flame, a proud traditional fulcrum, for Thanh to continue writing a new history page called “a bright future”!

Ham Rong Bridge - the legendary bridge that made the historic victory. Photo: Thu Vui

In “The lines of passion” by Sergây Aphônin (Expert of the Central Office of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union from 1975 to 1988), talking about the times he met Uncle Ho, there is an extremely interesting detail. That was in February 1969, he came to Vietnam with the Soviet Youth Delegation. The delegation visited many cities and villages in the North of Vietnam, including visiting and presenting the Ham Rong Bridge protection unit with a bullet shell and a handful of soil taken from the city of Stalingrad. When he met Uncle Ho and recounted that memory to him, “Uncle Ho was silent for a moment and then said a very touching sentence: Ham Rong is the small Stalingrad of Vietnam”.

“Ham Rong is the small Stalingrad of Vietnam”. Perhaps, anyone who has studied the turning point victory of the Soviet Red Army at Stalingrad will understand Uncle Ho's saying, which is also to understand the strategic position of Ham Rong and the great value of the Ham Rong victory in the struggle against sabotage in the North in particular, and the resistance war against the US, to save the country in general. Therefore, when the head of the White House proclaimed “It is time for the Americans to destroy the will of Hanoi's silver heads and break the backbone of the Vietnamese army, by attacking the key bridge called Ham Rong”, the battle to protect Ham Rong bridge was not simply to protect an important traffic junction, but it was a fateful confrontation between “two regimes, two armies, two ideologies of justice and injustice”. Although it cannot be compared to Stalingrad - the defensive campaign was considered exemplary in the fight to protect the city; But the fact that our army and people made the American "Rolling Thunder" plan "silenced" can also be considered a model of people's war, of the spirit of the whole country going to battle together.

And then, exactly 6 decades have passed, but the two words "Quyết Thắng" are carved on the side of Canh Tien mountain, a reminder to those who have crossed Ham Rong bridge, that the guns have fallen silent but the historical past is never forgotten. And above all, the two words "Quyết Thắng" are not only created by the hands of labor, but hidden deep within those letters placed next to each other, are the countless blood and bones of our ancestors that have been shed on this land. Therefore, with the spiritual support of the determination to fight - determination to win the immortal Ham Rong, nothing can become an obstacle on the journey to build Thanh Hoa into a rich province, a model province as Uncle Ho wished.

The country after the unification was in chaos. However, the Vietnamese people were determined not to be afraid, because we always kept in mind Uncle Ho's advice: "As long as the mountains, the water, and the people remain/ After defeating the American invaders, we will build more than ten days ago". No matter how difficult it is, our people will definitely win completely, will definitely rebuild the nation's foundation to become "more dignified and more beautiful". Thanh Hoa - both the rear base supporting the battlefield in the South and the front line against the American imperialists' escalating destruction of the North - had to face many difficulties in the post-war period. However, together with the whole country, Thanh Hoa steadfastly entered a new long march: the cause of renovation. And then, after nearly 40 years full of hardships and challenges, the achievements achieved were extremely great.

The most prominent mark, contributing to bringing Thanh Hoa from the "top" of poor provinces to become a province with a high economic growth rate in the country. In particular, in the period 2000-2020 alone, the average annual growth rate of gross regional domestic product (GRDP) always reached double digits (over 10%); in the period 2021-2023 it reached 9.69%, ranking 5th in the country; in 2024 it reached 12.16%, ranking 2nd in the country. The scale of the economy in 2023 reached 272,950 billion VND, ranking 8th in the country, 27.4 times higher than in 2000...

In the economic structure, industry is affirming its position as a pillar. In particular, Thanh Hoa has formed Nghi Son Economic Zone with a total area of ​​up to 106,000 hectares and is one of the 8 key coastal economic zones of the country. At the same time, many industrial facilities have been completed and put into operation, with outstanding names such as: Nghi Son Oil Refinery, Nghi Son I Thermal Power Plant, Nghi Son 2 Thermal Power Plant, Nghi Son Steel ... For agriculture, a proud achievement has been contributing to affirming the development mark of Thanh Hoa, which is the National Target Program on New Rural Development. As of 2024, the whole province currently has 15 district-level units completing the task of New Rural Development; 377/465 communes meeting New Rural Development standards; 2 districts and 116 communes meeting advanced New Rural Development standards; 27 communes meeting model New Rural Development standards; 548 provincial-level OCOP products, ranking 3rd in the country. Regarding services, both the scale and types of services and the quality are increasingly high; the average annual growth rate in the period of 2021-2023 reached 7.95%; in 2023, the market size of the province ranked 7th in the country. In particular, infrastructure and tourism products have received investment attention, with many projects put into operation. Typical examples include: FLC Sam Son Eco-tourism Resort Complex; Sea Square, Sam Son City Festival Landscape Axis; Flamingo Hai Tien; eco-tourism areas in Pu Luong Nature Reserve... contributing to making Thanh Hoa an attractive tourist destination.

Thanh Hoa City - witness of the "historic confrontation" is growing strongly.

Another outstanding achievement, contributing to affirming Thanh Hoa's rising position, is the State budget revenue. Of which, the total budget revenue in the 2021-2023 period reached 132,418 billion VND, the average annual budget revenue growth rate reached 11.3%. In 2024 alone, the budget revenue reached 54,341 billion VND, the highest ever and ranked first in the North Central provinces, 8th in the country. The total mobilized social investment capital in the 2021-2024 period reached over 548.15 trillion VND. The socio-economic infrastructure system is invested in a synchronous and gradually modernized direction, with many large projects such as: North-South Expressway, Eastern branch; Road connecting Tho Xuan Airport to Nghi Son Economic Zone; Nam Song Ma Avenue (phase 1), Western Ring Road... Thereby, not only better meeting the socio-economic development requirements of the province, but also enhancing connectivity between provinces in the region, between the North Central region and the Northern provinces, the Northwest region and the whole country...

Thanh Hoa is one of the first localities in the country to establish a provincial Public Administration Service Center (since 2017). At the same time, it organizes the assessment and publication of the Provincial Department, Branch and District People's Committee Competitiveness Index (DDCI) (since 2021). Piloting the construction and replication of the model "Friendly Government, Serving the People" in communes, wards and towns, with the content of signing a commitment and implementing well the slogans "5 know", "3 no" and "4 show". Thereby, it has positively impacted the thinking, awareness and responsibility of officials and civil servants in contacting, dialogue and resolving administrative procedures for businesses and people.

In addition to economic bright spots, the cultural and social fields have also seen very positive changes. In particular, Thanh Hoa is still among the top provinces in the country in terms of education and training quality, especially key education. Attention is paid to medical work and health care for the people; the whole province currently has 98% of communes, wards and towns meeting national criteria on health; the rate of the whole province's population participating in health insurance is 92.5%. Social security, implementing policies for people with meritorious services, social protection beneficiaries, poor households, and people in difficult circumstances are taken care of; in the period 2001-2024, the average poverty rate decreased by over 1.5% per year (in 2024, the poverty rate decreased to 2.02%). The people's cultural and spiritual life has been improved and increasingly enhanced. National defense and security have been strengthened, social order and safety have been ensured. The Party Committee and political system of the province have continuously grown in all aspects; the strength of great national unity has been consolidated and enhanced, meeting the requirements of carrying out political tasks in each period.

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It can be affirmed that the results Thanh Hoa has achieved in nearly 40 years of implementing the renovation process are very proud. These are the results of the process of constantly renewing thinking, promoting responsibility, proactively and creatively applying the Party's guidelines and policies, the State's policies and laws to the practical conditions of the locality, unit and in each period. In particular, in that process, Thanh Hoa has clearly identified the role and position of the province, of each locality and unit. At the same time, proactively promoting internal resources, taking advantage of the attention, support and assistance of the Central Government and domestic and international friends and partners for development. In addition, the province has proactively built many open and attractive mechanisms and policies, creating favorable conditions to mobilize diversely and effectively use resources from all economic sectors for rapid and sustainable socio-economic development.

With that fundamental foundation, we expect and believe that from the "land where the dragon reigns" Ham Rong, the sacred dragon will take off to create new miracles, bringing Thanh Hoa strongly into the era of the Vietnamese nation's rise.

Article and photos: Khoi Nguyen

Source: https://baothanhhoa.vn/ky-niem-60-nam-ham-rong-chien-thang-3-4-4-1965-3-4-4-2025-nbsp-tu-hao-truyen-thong-viet-tiep-tuong-lai-244306.htm