Veterans continue to fuel tradition for the younger generation

In June 1963, Mr. Thanh left his hometown Binh Giang ( Hai Duong province) to join the army in Company 4, Battalion 51, Regiment 148, Division 316, Northwest Military Region. In April 1964, he and his unit went to Laos to participate in the liberation of the Plain of Jars (Xieng Khouang). After that, his superiors sent him to study at the Army Officer School. After graduating, he returned to work at the 88th Special Forces Company of Khanh Hoa Provincial Military Command as a Platoon Leader. Until now, he still remembers the years of fighting with his comrades on the Khanh Hoa battlefield, especially the fierce fighting days with many hardships and sacrifices in Dong Bo War Zone - Da Hang Secret Zone (now in Phuoc Dong Commune, Nha Trang City) during the 1968 Tet Offensive and Uprising.

Veteran Nguyen Van Thanh speaks at a meeting with officers and soldiers of the armed forces who directly participated in fighting on the battlefield in Khanh Hoa province.
on the occasion of the 50th anniversary of Khanh Hoa Province Liberation Day (April 2, 1975 - April 2, 2025).

After the country was liberated, he was sent to study at the Dalat Military Academy. In February 1987, he was appointed Deputy Commander - Chief of Staff of Group 5502 (Front 579) on an international mission in Cambodia. After holding many positions, at the end of 2000, as Deputy Commander of the Provincial Military Command, he retired with the rank of Colonel.

After retirement, he actively participated in association activities. Currently, veteran Nguyen Van Thanh is Vice President of the Association of Patriotic Resistance Traditions of Khanh Hoa province. Although the war has ended, the pain of war has not ended. Veteran Nguyen Van Thanh is always concerned about those who have sacrificed and have not been brought back to their comrades. Therefore, he actively participates in the search and recovery of martyrs' remains, especially the search for the remains of martyrs who sacrificed during the Tet Offensive and Uprising in 1968 in Khanh Hoa.

Veteran Nguyen Van Thanh (left cover) tells the author about his memories of the battlefield.

CCB Nguyen Van Thanh said: I remember most the time when I and my teammates searched for and collected the remains of martyrs who died in the Ru Ri Pass area (north of Nha Trang City). We searched for months at a time, regardless of rain or shine, day or night. After many years of not finding them, it seemed hopeless, then by chance on the afternoon of March 23, 2013, while excavating to build a road through Ru Ri Pass, workers operating an excavator discovered a mass grave of 23 martyrs. Determining that these were the remains of martyrs who died in the 1968 Tet Offensive and Uprising, local leaders and the martyrs' grave collection team exhumed the remains and buried them in a common grave at Hon Dung Martyrs' Cemetery, Nha Trang City.

Despite his advanced age, he still regularly goes to places in the province to propagate and ignite the tradition for the younger generation. During the exchange to ignite the tradition for 540 members and youths of Nha Trang City who will join the army in 2025, veteran Nguyen Van Thanh told about the heroic tradition of the nation, the Vietnam People's Army and the provincial armed forces through his own military career, along with his comrades who fought on this land.

MAI VAN DONG

Source: https://baokhanhhoa.vn/xa-hoi/202504/nguoi-cuu-chien-binh-tiep-lua-truyen-thong-cho-the-he-tre-3ce53cf/