Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc met with Vietnam Heroic Mothers, veterans

and families of meritorious people in the 70th Anniversary of the War invalids and Martyrs' Day _ Photo: DC

Over the past 70 years, the whole Party, people, and army of Vietnam have always paid attention and reserved the deep affection, responsibilities to take good care of the war invalids, martyrs’ families, and revolution devotees through the policies which are specific, practical, and suitable for each period of the revolution, showing the gratitude tradition of the Vietnamese.

On February 16, 1947, President Ho Chi Minh signed Decree No. 20-SL on   disability pension regulations for war invalids, martyrs and revolution devotees. This is the first Decree on the policies for war invalids, martyrs and devotees, an important event in the social policy of the Party and the State in order to express gratitude for the sacrifice and contribution of war invalids, martyrs, and national devotees.

In June 1947, at the branch representative conference where the central and provincial agencies met in Hung Son Commune, Dai Tu District, Thai Nguyen Province, President Ho Chi Minh instructed to select the 27th of July as the National Day for War Invalids (then changed to the Day of War Invalids and Martyrs). Since then, the 27th of July has been a refined traditional day for implementing principles of gratitude towards the war invalids, martyrs and revolution devotees. Over the past 70 years, the policies for war invalids and martyrs have come into life, creating the consensus between the “will of the Party” and “the heart of people”, becoming the motivation of a large scale revolutionary movement and making significant contribution to the cause of building and protecting the Socialist Republic of Vietnam.

Since early days of the resistance against French colonists, the policies for the war invalids, martyrs and revolution devotees have been continuously amended, supplemented, improved, and developed into two ordinances: Ordinance on Granting  and Awarding the State’s Honor Title of Vietnamese Heroic Mother and Ordinance on Preferential Treatment for revolutionary activists - martyrs and martyrs’ families, war invalids, diseased soldiers, resistance activists, revolution devotees (presently Ordinance on Preferential Treatment for Revolution Devotees), with 13 kinds of subjects and tens of attached policies. With the promulgation of the two above ordinances, the preferential contents for war invalids, martyrs and devotees have been legalized. A large number of issues which are left by history and generated in the new mechanism have been harmoniously solved; life of war invalids, martyrs’ families and revolution devotees have gradually been improved.

Pursuant to Ordinance on Preferential Treatment for Revolution Devotees, there are over 8.8 million devotees, accounting for 10% of population. Among them, there are nearly 1.2 million martyrs, more than 117 thousand Vietnamese heroic mothers, nearly 800 thousand war invalids and invalid-like policy beneficiaries (according to the statistics of the Ministry of Labor, Invalids and Social Affairs). Currently, there are 185 thousands war invalids, more than 1,253 Heroes of the people’s armed forces, Heroes of labour in the resistance, 101,138 revolution devotees, 186,137 resistance activists and children of resistance activists who are infected with chemical poison, more than 109,468 exiled resistance activists, more than 4.1 million resistance activists for nation liberation and over 1.7 million devotees enjoying the monthly preferential allowance of the State.

Many non-profit, health care facilities have been set up for the policy beneficiaries. From the early sanatorium and functional rehabilitation facilities in the free zone in the first days of the resistance against the French and American, up to now, there has been a system of more than 30 centers for war invalid treatment, 14 centers for orthopaedics and function rehabilitation which are distributed evenly across the country with modern equipment. These facilities have provided timely service for treating war invalids and diseased soldiers, training officers, career training, rehabilitating function, and treating the devotees.

A lot of martyr’s cemeteries and martyr’s memorial works have been built. There are more than 3,000 cemeteries all over the country - the eternal resting place of more than 800,000 martyrs, many of which have become the cultural - historical works of the country such as Dong Thap Martyr’s Cemetery, Truong Son Martyr’s Cemetery, Dien Bien Phu Martyr’s Cemetery, etc. Many martyr’s monuments have been constructed, for example: Lo River Victory Monuments (Phu Tho), Nui Thanh Victory Monument (Quang Nam), Ap Bac Victory Monument (Tien Giang), Ben Duoc Martyrs Temple (Ho Chi Minh City), etc.; thousands of tombstone houses are filled with martyrs’ names. These works have become “red addresses”, helping educate patriotism, pride on the homeland for Vietnamese generations.

In parallel with the preferential policies of the State, the gratitude movement has been intensively socialized. From the movements “Soldier Winter”, “Support for Wounded Soldiers”, the dutiful and humane actions in response to the appeal and example of President Ho Chi Minh in the days that the whole country were “Willing to die for the Nation to survive” (12-1946), to the orchards, fish ponds creating job for tens of thousands of war invalids, demobilized soldiers, taking care of martyrs’ relatives when the whole country was determined for national liberation, etc. Up to now, the movement of caring for war invalids, martyrs’ families and revolution devotees has been developed into five gratitude programs including: building up gratitude fund, offering the gratitude savings book, building houses of gratitude, receiving serious war invalids to take care at home, taking care of the lonely martyrs’ parents, helpless children. The above gratitude programs have been implemented by the levels and branches, from centre to locality, with high effectiveness. With the participation of the whole political system, the gratitude movement has developed strongly, becoming the beautiful features in the national cultural life in several forms such as house of gratitude, orchard of gratitude, savings books of gratitude, dresses for respected woman, support of Vietnamese heroic mother, care of serious war invalids, diseased soldiers, old, weak, lonely martyrs’ parents, sponsor of children of war invalids and martyrs, etc. Through such activities, the movement has highly promoted the combined strength of the community, helped stabilize and improve the materialistic and spiritual life of war invalids, diseased soldiers, martyrs’ families and devotees. Over the past five years, the gratitude movement has donated billions of Vietnam Dong, built tens of thousands of gratitude houses and repaired over 50,000 houses with the total amount of nearly 10,000 billion Dong, awarded savings books of gratitude worth nearly 100 billion Vietnam Dong. As for the Army, they have built thousands of houses of gratitude, houses of comrades for the families under preferential treatment policies, promoted the implementation of army rear policies, supported thousands of Vietnamese heroic mothers, etc.

Beside the concern and care of the Party, the State and the communities, related bodies at all levels and branches have encouraged the war invalids, martyrs’ families, and devotees in accordance to the teaching of President Ho Chi Minh: “Wounded soldiers are disabled but not discarded” and “They deserve to be the revolutionary model citizens and families forever.” Since then, there have been more and more examples of war invalids, diseased soldiers, families under preferential treatment policies who have overcome difficulties and run good business, production, becoming the outstanding examples in the cause of building and protecting the nation. Many children of war invalids and martyrs have overcome difficulties, strived to become good children and outstanding students, and inherited the revolutionary tradition of the family and of the country.

With the attention of the Party, the State, the cooperation and the policy beneficiaries themselves, the works for war invalids, martyrs and devotees have been more and more firmly developed, making contribution to socio-political stability, creating favourable conditions for the renovation cause of the country. However, the war invalids, martyrs, and devotees’ work is a sensitive issue, affecting the thinking, feeling of millions for people, relating to the maintenance of socio-politics, enhancement of national defence - security. Therefore, the requirements set forth in the war invalids, martyrs works are to follow the practice closely, make timely settlement to the arising issues, ensure the policy beneficiaries to enjoy the preferential treatment of the State correctly and sufficiently, overcome the negative signs in movement implementation organization.

In order to continue implementing guidelines and policies of the Party and the State on war invalids, martyrs and revolution devotees, the following basic orientations should be properly implemented:

Firstly, further promoting the movement that the entire Party and people implement well the policies for war invalids, martyrs’ families and devotees with specific programs. The contribution of the community is an additional resource so as to provide better care for the life of the devotees together with the State. All the levels need to implement well the works of praising, awarding, multiplying the outstanding examples who excel in the gratitude movement, the policy beneficiaries who make great effort in production, study and work. The policy building contents should be added in order to meet more and more requirements of nation construction and protection cause.

Secondly, focusing on solving the remaining issues on confirming war invalids, martyrs, soldiers infected with chemical poisons, searching, gathering the martyrs’ remains, identifying the names of unknown martyrs, mending, upgrading the martyrs’ tombs, cemeteries, and monuments. To do this well, the cooperation of all branches, levels, and the entire population is required. First of all, every branch and locality needs to raise their responsibilities, propagandize the guidelines, policies of the Party and the State intensively, deploy specific plans, check, consider, conclude each case in strict accordance with regulations so as not to make mistake or miss out the true devotees enjoying no policies. At the same time, the survey, inspection works over the policy implementation must be respected, and the deceitful, law breaching acts on the devotees must be punished.

Thirdly, making full and timely implementation of preferential policies of the State, ensuring that the allowances and grants are handed “in the right hands, in the right time, in the correct numbers” to the subjects. Accordingly, the levels should continue studying, removing obstacles, difficulties, unreasonable things in policy works, promoting administrative procedure reforms, and creating favourable conditions for the devotees to benefit from the preferential policies of the State. In the short term, the Decision No. 62/2011/QD-TTg, dated 9 November, 2011 by the Prime Minister “on regulations, policies for those who participated in nation protection war, conducted international obligation in Cambodia, helped Laos, returned from military service, demobilized, quitted working after 30 April, 1975” should be implemented well in accordance with the proper progress and objects.

The consequence left by the war in Vietnam is still heavy. The annual anniversary of the war invalids and martyrs, 27th of July, is an occasion for the whole Party, the people and the army to uphold the gratitude tradition of the nation, promote the caring works, prioritize the war invalids, martyrs’ families, revolution devotees, bring the practical effectiveness, and help the national devotees to be materialistically peaceful, spiritually happy as President Ho Chi Minh ever wished. Executive committees of the Party and the Government are responsible for following closely the actual life of the people, leading, instructing the regulations, policies of the Party and the State, removing the unmatched, making timely addition of the new necessary point in order to mitigate the difficulties, pains of those who raised the heroic spirit for the country and the people, devoted their talents, and sacrificed themselves for the nation.

Senior Lieutenant General Tran Don 

Member of the Party Central Committee,

Standing Member of the Central Military Commission,

Deputy Minister of Defence