burst of joy
We met Senior Lieutenant General Nguyen Van Rinh at his home one morning in late April. This year, 82 years old, Senior Lieutenant General is still very healthy and sharp-minded. Talking to us about the day of total victory and national reunification on April 30, 1975, Senior Lieutenant General Nguyen Van Rinh recalled: "At that time, I was the Deputy Chief of Staff of Division 325, Corps 2. While forming a formation on Highway 1, Nam O area, Da Nang, preparing to advance to Saigon, we received an order from General Vo Nguyen Giap with the content: "Fast, even faster! Bold, even bolder! Seize every hour and minute, rush to the front, liberate the South. Fight with determination and complete victory".
In the historic Ho Chi Minh Campaign, the 325th Division was tasked with attacking enemy bases in Long Thanh, Nhon Trach, Cat Lai, Tuy Ha citadel, Thu Duc district, and district 4, cutting off the Mekong Delta from Saigon. At the same time, it opened the way for long-range artillery to bombard and control enemy air operations at Tan Son Nhat airport. Then, it joined the 2nd Corps's spearheads to advance into Saigon's inner city.
Senior Lieutenant General Nguyen Van Rinh recounted that at dawn on April 30, when the long-range artillery position of Brigade 164 in Nhon Trach was ordered to stop firing at Tan Son Nhat airport, it was also the time when he and his comrades' historic river crossing began. "If the enemy had been fiercely resisting a few days before, on April 30, many enemy units had stripped off their uniforms and weapons and fled. By 9:00 a.m. on April 30, the attack to cross the Dong Nai River with the combined strength of Division 325 and the Huong Giang Corps ended in victory," Senior Lieutenant Colonel Nguyen Van Rinh recalled.
Immediately after breaking the enemy's defense line in Cat Lai, the Division Command ordered the 101st Regiment and accompanying tank forces to develop an attack on District 9 and the Tan Cang area. The 46th Regiment and the 84th Regiment stayed behind to protect the area and block the Long Tau River, preventing the enemy from retreating to the sea. From 9am to 12am on April 30, the soldiers of the 101st Regiment launched a series of attacks to capture District 9, the puppet Navy Command, and the Tan Cang area.
At 11:30 a.m. on April 30, 1975, when the liberation flag was flying over the roof of the Independence Palace, Senior Lieutenant General Nguyen Van Rinh and his unit occupied the enemy's satellite targets. "Hearing the news of victory from the unit's communication system, we were moved and extremely happy. That day, in the hot noon sun, thousands of people poured into the streets, flags and flowers filled the sky to celebrate the country's reunification. Everyone was excited to welcome and give food and drinks to the liberation troops. One day after the liberation, I was also promoted from major to lieutenant colonel," Senior Lieutenant General Nguyen Van Rinh recalled.
The value of peace
Senior Lieutenant General Nguyen Van Rinh was born in 1942, in Van To commune, Tu Ky district (Hai Duong). He was a member of the Party Central Committee of the 8th and 9th terms, Deputy Minister of National Defense, and Chairman of the Vietnam Association of Victims of Agent Orange/Dioxin. He is also the first Hai Duong native in the Vietnam People's Armed Forces to be promoted to the rank of Senior Lieutenant General (since 2004).
Since he was a child, the heroic sacrifice of his father, the Deputy Guerrilla Captain of Dong Kenh village, Van To commune (Tu Ky) during a French raid, inspired in Senior Lieutenant General Nguyen Van Rinh the spirit of saving the country and hating the invaders. Enlisting in the army at the age of 19, during his nearly 50 years in the army, Senior Lieutenant General Nguyen Van Rinh was a historical witness to many heroic battles of the nation. After the liberation of the South, he continued to participate in the fight to protect the southwestern border and the northern border. After the war ended, he was transferred to serve as Commander of the 2nd Army Corps. Since 1995, he has worked at the Ministry of National Defense, as Deputy Chief of the General Staff, then Deputy Minister of National Defense.
Since 2008, when he had just retired, he was introduced by the Central Party Secretariat, the Central Military Commission, and the Ministry of National Defense to be the President of the Vietnam Association of Victims of Agent Orange/Dioxin. Senior Lieutenant General Nguyen Van Rinh accepted the position. He will be attached to this job until December 2023. Having fought directly for many years on the front lines sprayed with toxic chemicals by enemy aircraft; witnessing the severe consequences of this toxic substance on the bodies of his comrades and future generations, Senior Lieutenant General Nguyen Van Rinh emotionally shared: “The victims of Agent Orange are the poorest of the poor, the most miserable of the miserable. The war is long gone, but the consequences still remain until now and are difficult to compensate for.”
According to Senior Lieutenant General Nguyen Van Rinh, each occasion to celebrate the country's reunification day is not to rekindle the pain of war but to make it impossible for future generations to forget and understand more the great significance, historical and contemporary value of the Great Victory of Spring 1975. "The more we understand the losses and sacrifices that our people and nation have had to go through, the more we cherish the value of peace today, of a country without war. Today, when the country is at peace, along with promoting the strength of great national unity, we must not be subjective or negligent in fighting foreign invaders; fighting internal invaders, building and rectifying the Party also need to be focused on, constantly, without stopping", Senior Lieutenant General Nguyen Van Rinh shared more.
HOANG BIENSource
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