Although 80 years have elapsed, the spirit of “million people as one” during the August Revolution still resounds within the entire nation and each Vietnamese citizen, acting as a source of motivations for generations of Vietnamese war veterans to promote the virtues of “Uncle Ho’s Soldiers”, actively engage in building a strong political system, and deserve to be a reliable, absolutely loyal political force of the Party, State, and people.

80 years ago, under the leadership of our Party and beloved President Ho Chi Minh, our people across the country simultaneously carried out a General Uprising to seize power, marking a milestone in the country’s glorious history of national construction and protection.

The 11th Congress of the Vietnam Veterans’ Association Party Organisation for 2025 - 2030 tenure

That great victory was the result of 15 years of arduous revolutionary struggle since the foundation of the Communist Party of Vietnam (CPV) on 3 February 1930; it was the crystallisation of many subjective and objective factors. However, the most decisive factor is that our CPV promoted the entire nation’s synergy, stimulating patriotism, self-reliance, and self-strengthening among people from all walks of life, encouraging all citizens to rise up to fight colonialism and feudalism for the sake of national independence. The success of the August Revolution laid a foundation for the entire CPV, people, and Military to overcome difficulties, advance towards greater victories, successfully fulfil the cause of national liberation and unification, bring the whole country to socialism. In the process, cadres and soldiers of the Vietnam People’s Army (VPA) as well as militiamen and guerrillas, who became war veterans later, played an important role. As for generations of veterans, the spirit of the August Revolution has always been valuable lessons on absolute loyalty to the CPV, Fatherland, and people as well as dedication to the Fatherland and people. That spirit has always inspired veterans, despite their old age and declining health, to actively take part in social affairs, develop their hometown, combat corruption, wastefulness, and hostile forces’ sabotage strategy, and become an important bridge between the CPV, authorities, and the people. Notably, veterans have made significant contributions to building a strong political system from local to Central levels. Generations of veterans have always demonstrated their “courage, exemplary role, and pioneering spirit”, unceasingly improving their qualities, ethics, and lifestyle, encouraging the people to comply with the Party’s lines and the State’s laws and policies, actively participating in the building and rectification of the Party and political system. According to statistics from the Vietnam Veterans’ Association (VVA), by early 2025, over 200,000 veterans were working in all-level party committees, People’s Councils, People’s Committees, and other unions. That figure proves the significant role of veterans in the country’s political system today. With political steadfastness forged during their military service, veterans have become a core force in the fight against corruption and negative practices. 

Throughout operations of all-level VVAs, many proposals and feedback from the people have been opportunely conveyed to all-level leaderships and authorities, thereby contributing to removing barriers and drawbacks in the work of management and administration at grass-roots level and ensuring citizens’ legitimate benefits. Typical examples of daring to think, daring to speak, daring to fight negative practices, set by veterans, have really fuelled the spirit of the August Revolution, greatly contributing to building and cementing the people’s faith in the building of the Party and political system. That further affirms the indispensable role of veterans as faithful revolutionary soldiers in today’s struggle against corruption, wastefulness, and negative practices. With their great prestige and life experience, veterans have considerable influence within their residential areas. They have played an important part in encouraging the people to actively execute patriotic emulation movements, such as “All people unite to build cultural life”, “Building new-style rural areas”, and “Building civilised urban areas”. In any circumstances, Vietnamese veterans have always promoted the tradition and virtues of “Uncle Ho’s Soldiers”, remaining absolutely loyal to the CPV, Fatherland, and people, devoting efforts to constructing and protecting the Socialist Vietnamese Fatherland.

In the upcoming time, the situation on regional and global scales continues to have complex, unpredictable developments. Domestically, the revolution to streamline the political system’s apparatus and adopt two-tier local government model has been synchronously carried out with initial positive outcomes. However, hostile, reactionary, politically opportunistic forces both at home and abroad have been sabotaging our revolution via cunning tactics. Against that backdrop, the entire Party, people, and Military should further bring into play the spirit of the August 1945 Revolution, maximise opportunities and advantages, push back threats and challenges, and foster the country’s all-round, breakthrough development.

A refresher course on drug prevention and control for members of the VVA

Inheriting and promoting their recorded results, cadres and members of all-level VVAs should be fully aware of their pride and political responsibility, make more significant contributions, and more actively, effectively take part in building a strong political system, with a focus on several measures as follows.

First, continuing to encourage veterans to remain unity, promote the nature and tradition of “Uncle Ho’s Soldiers”, and actively take part in building and protecting the CPV, State, people, and socialist regime. All-level VVAs and their members should directly encourage the people to well execute the Party’s lines and the State’s laws and policies. All-level VVAs should collaborate with other forces to fight wrong, hostile viewpoints, safeguard the CPV’s ideological foundation, prevent and combat degradation in political ideology, morality, and lifestyle as well as signs of “self-evolution” and “self-transformation” among cadres, party members, and their own members. At the same time, all-level VVAs should join the whole political system in realising the two-tier local government model, raising the effectiveness and efficiency of offices, units, and organisations within the political system, and ushering our country into a new development era. To that end, party committees, authorities, and all-level VVAs should create a favourable condition for veterans, especially those with great capacity, enthusiasm, and credibility to more engage in the work of leadership and management within localities. Besides, there should be mechanisms for detecting, training, and nominating outstanding veterans to run for the people’s representative offices and participate in political - social organisations. Due attention should be paid to improving veterans’ knowledge of the Party’s lines and the State’s laws and policies to enable them to effectively take part in building the political system.

Second, further promoting the VVA’s role of social supervision and criticism over operations of CPV bodies, authorities, and unions. Great value should be attached to supervising the implementation of the Party’s regulations and the State’s laws on personnel work, supervising the building and rectification of the Party, supervising the signs of degradation in political ideology, morality, and lifestyle among cadres and party members, supervising the observance of public service and professional ethics among heads of offices and units, cadres, and party members, and supervising the development of a corps of cadres at all levels with sufficient qualities, capabilities, and prestige to meet the requirements set by the revolution to streamline the political system’s apparatus, administrative boundary adjustments, and the organisation of two-tier local government model. In order to promote the effectiveness of social supervision and criticism, there should be specific mechanisms for veterans to confidently identify and combat manifestations of corruption, wastefulness, and negative practices within localities. There should be also mechanisms for protecting the veterans who dare to think, dare to speak, and dare to act for the common good.

Third, continuing to execute coordination programs, movements, and campaigns within localities and across the country. All-level VVAs should further collaborate with the Ho Chi Minh Communist Youth Union, member organisations of the Vietnam Fatherland Front, and military agencies to educate the youth, particularly those who are going to do their military service, on patriotism, revolutionary heroism, self-reliance, and self-strengthening. Veterans should act as role models in the movement entitled “All people unite to build cultural life within residential areas”, encourage the people to build civilised life within families and residential areas, and spread noble cultural values among people from all walks of life. Veterans should continue to encourage the people to effectively implement movements and campaigns, such as “The whole country joins hands to build new-style rural areas”, “The whole country joins hands for the poor - no one will be left behind” via various forms and methods, with a view to fostering the close-knit bond between the Military and the people and cementing the people’s faith in the Party, State, and VPA.

The VVA gives presents to revolution contributors in Ho Chi Minh City

Fourth, encouraging members of all-level VVAs to heighten self-reliance and self-strengthening, dare to think, dare to do, and help one another with economic development for the sake of sustainable poverty reduction and legitimate enrichment. To that end, all-level VVAs should promote their role and sense of responsibility and mobilise all resources and assistance from local party committees, authorities, and unions as well as from the State to create a favourable condition for their members to realise economic development models and contribute to fostering local socio-economic development. Besides, due regard should be paid to improving material and mental life of veterans, especially those in difficulty to enable them to dedicate themselves to building the political system and developing the country.

Fifth, focusing on building politically, ideologically strong and compact VVAs and renewing their operational content, methods, quality, and efficiency, particularly at commune level to allow them to well perform their functions and tasks as the core force in the work of veteran mobilisation. To that end, measures should be synchronously adopted to raise the quality of a pool of cadres within all-level VVAs, ensuring that those cadres will always demonstrate their integrity and spirit of daring to speak, daring to do, and daring to take responsibility to meet the task requirements of all-level VVAs in the new era. Moreover, consideration should be given to carrying out people-to-people exchange programs to contribute to realising our Party and State’s diplomatic lines and policies.

The spirit of the August 1945 Revolution will forever be a guiding star for the Vietnamese nation, providing a source of spiritual strength for generations of Vietnamese citizens, including veterans in the cause of Fatherland construction and protection. Promoting the tradition of “Uncle Ho’s Soldiers”, members of all-level VVAs will continue making quiet but extremely significant contributions to the building of a strong political system.

Sr. Lt. Gen. BE XUAN TRUONG

Deputy Chairman of the Vietnam Fatherland Front Central Committee

Secretary of the VVA Party Committee

Chairman of the VVA