Proud of the glorious tradition of 50 years of the founding of the 3rd Army Corps

Attending the ceremony were comrades: Senior Lieutenant General Le Huy Vinh - Member of the Party Central Committee, Deputy Minister of National Defense; Ho Van Nien - Member of the Party Central Committee, Secretary of the Provincial Party Committee, Chairman of the Provincial People's Council; U Huan - Alternate member of the Party Central Committee, Deputy Secretary of the Provincial Party Committee, Head of the National Assembly Delegation of Kon Tum province.

Provincial Party Secretary Ho Van Nien attended the ceremony to celebrate the 50th anniversary of the founding of Army Corps 3. Photo: TD

Glorious feats

At the ceremony, Major General Nguyen Ba Luc - Commander of the 34th Corps reviewed the glorious tradition of the 3rd Corps over the past 50 years. Accordingly, on March 26, 1975, the 3rd Corps (Tay Nguyen Corps) was established on the basis of the main force of the Tay Nguyen Front. After only 10 days of establishment, the Corps was honored to receive the task of participating in the historic Ho Chi Minh Campaign, undertaking the attack on the main direction, the Northwest of Saigon.

At the beginning of the campaign, the Corps quickly destroyed the puppet 25th Division at Dong Du Base, captured Brigadier General Ly Tong Ba, opened the "steel door" blocking the northwest of Saigon and broke the enemy's strongest defense line from Go Dau Ha to Cu Chi. At exactly 10:35 a.m. on April 30, 1975, the flag of the 10th Division flew on the roof of the puppet Air Force Command at Tan Son Nhat Airport. At 11:30 a.m., the victory flag raised by the flag team of Company 10 (Battalion 3, Regiment 28) flew on the roof of the puppet General Staff.

During this campaign, the unit destroyed and captured 19,084 enemies, contributing to the victory of the great resistance war against the US to save the nation, together with the army and people of the whole country. At the end of the campaign, the Corps was assessed by the Campaign Command as having completed its mission exceptionally well.

After the liberation of the South and the reunification of the country, from June to August 1976, following orders from the Ministry of National Defense, the entire Corps moved its military location from Binh Duong town (Thu Dau Mot province) to Nha Trang city (Phu Khanh province, now Khanh Hoa) to carry out training missions, prepare for combat, participate in building and consolidating local political bases and suppressing FULRO in Lam Dong and Dak Lak provinces.

In October 1977, the Corps moved to Tan Bien district (Tay Ninh province) to participate in the fight to protect the southwestern border and assist the Cambodian revolutionary armed forces. From December 31, 1978 to January 14, 1979, the Corps launched a campaign to liberate the Cambodian people, overthrowing the Pol Pot regime; the Cambodian State awarded the Angkor Medal and a flag with the inscription "The pure and wonderful spirit of proletarian internationalism".

On May 3, 1979, the Mobile Corps went to Bac Thai province (now Bac Kan and Thai Nguyen) to serve as a mobile reserve force of the Ministry of National Defense and successfully completed the assigned mission during the 7 months of stationing there. In April 1987, the Corps was mobilized back to the strategic area of ​​the Central Highlands.

“With its outstanding achievements in the resistance war against the US to save the country, protect the Fatherland and carry out international missions, the 3rd Army Corps was honored by the Party and State with the title of Hero of the People's Armed Forces on December 20, 1979; awarded 3 Ho Chi Minh Medals, 57 Military Exploit Medals, 242 Exploit Medals of various classes and many other noble awards; 81 collectives and 51 individuals were awarded the title of Hero of the People's Armed Forces by the Party and State,” said Major General Nguyen Ba Luc.

Senior Lieutenant General Le Huy Vinh presented the posthumous title of Hero of the People's Armed Forces to representatives of the families of 6 officers and soldiers of Army Corps 3 and Army Corps 4. Photo: TD

Also according to Major General Nguyen Ba Luc, on December 10, 2024, Minister of National Defense Phan Van Giang signed Decision No. 5989/QD-BQP to establish the 34th Corps on the basis of agencies and units under the 3rd and 4th Corps. Promoting the glorious tradition of its predecessor units, immediately after its establishment, the 34th Corps was active, proactive, united, united, and overcame all difficulties, focused on improving the quality of training, combat readiness, building discipline, and promptly encouraging and motivating officers and soldiers to work with peace of mind and determination to complete assigned tasks well.

Speaking at the ceremony, Senior Lieutenant General Le Huy Vinh congratulated generations of officers and soldiers of the 3rd Corps on their outstanding achievements and feats over the past 50 years. The Deputy Minister of National Defense asked officers and soldiers of the 34th Corps to uphold the glorious tradition of the heroic 3rd Corps and its predecessor units, overcome all difficulties, focus on improving training quality, combat readiness, building discipline, and being determined to complete assigned tasks well; build a strong and comprehensive agency and unit that is "Exemplary and typical" to meet the requirements of tasks in the new situation.

Solemn, emotional

At the ceremony, authorized by the President, Deputy Minister of National Defense Le Huy Vinh awarded the title of Hero of the People's Armed Forces to 6 comrades who were former officers and soldiers of the 3rd and 4th Corps. Specifically: Major General Hoang The Thien - former Political Commissar of the 4th Corps; Major General Tran The Mon - former Political Commissar of the Central Highlands Front; Major General Ho De - former Commander of Regiment 66, former Division Commander of Division 10, Central Highlands Front; Colonel Truong Van Dang - former Commander of Regiment 2, Division 9, 4th Corps; martyr, Senior Lieutenant Dam Vu Hiep - former Commander of Battalion 8, Regiment 64, Division 320, Central Highlands Front; martyr, Private Dang Dinh Chuc - former soldier of Company 11, Battalion 3, Regiment 48, Division 320, Central Highlands Front.

Representatives of the families of 6 officers and soldiers who worked at 2 predecessor units of the 34th Corps could not hide their emotions and pride when receiving the posthumous title of Hero of the People's Armed Forces from their relatives. Ms. Dang Thi Vi (sister of martyr, Private Dang Dinh Chuc) emotionally expressed: “My parents gave birth to 6 children. Chuc is the only son in the family. My brother declared his age and volunteered to go to the battlefield to fight against the Americans to save the country. In May 1968, he sacrificed himself in Quang Tri and his grave is still unknown. Today, I am very moved and proud to represent my family to receive the noble title that the Party and State posthumously awarded him.”

Ms. Dang Thi Vi (sister of martyr Dang Dinh Chuc). Photo: TD

Mr. Tran The Viet (son of Major General Tran The Mon) also expressed his pride when receiving the certificate of posthumous award of the title of Hero of the People's Armed Forces for his father.

“My father contributed with many generations of cadres and soldiers in the Corps to achieve resounding victories, together with the entire Party, people and army to complete the cause of national liberation and national reunification.

The noble title of Hero of the People's Armed Forces that my father was posthumously awarded today is partly due to his own efforts, but more importantly, it is due to the wise leadership of the Party, Uncle Ho, the Ministry of National Defense and the great contributions of his comrades who fought side by side with him. This is the motivation for the generations of children and grandchildren in our family to follow in his footsteps and contribute more to the country," Mr. Viet shared.

Source: https://baogialai.com.vn/tu-hao-truyen-thong-ve-vang-50-nam-ngay-thanh-lap-quan-doan-3-post316359.html