Lifelong affection

Perhaps for me and many military veteran entrepreneurs, we will never forget the image of former Party General Secretary Le Kha Phieu, a respected leader and military general. His care and assertive personality have always been a guideline for the next generation of veterans like us to study and follow.

It was a great honour for me to meet former Party General Secretary Le Kha Phieu in a gratitude programme dedicated to fallen soldiers. I was also a martyr’s son. My father died in the battlefield in 1949, and my family and wife both believed in and followed the Party’s revolutionary cause. Our generation was raised by the Party, State and people in the northern region from an early age, then growing up and joining the army to fight in the southern batterfield, contributing a small part to national liberation. When learning about my life, former General Secretary Le Kha Phieu expressed his great fondness and trust in me regarding my piety to parents, affection toward my fellow soldiers who laid down their lives for the country, and determination to do business to improve my life after military retirement. It was his understanding that engraved the image of a simple and respectable leader on my mind following occasions I had the chance to meet and accompany him on a number of trips.

Former Party General Secretary Le Kha Phieu poses with workers at the Cao Bang Sugar Factory on December 17, 1998. (Photo: VNA)

I witnessed many affectionate gestures of the former Party chief toward the people, especially war veterans who had stood beside him on the battlefield in the past. Former General Secretary Le Kha Phieu once said: “So many soldiers and compatriots have fallen, and no one is allowed to forget them. Whoever forgets the past is to forget themselves”. Whether in the highest position of the Party or retired, he was always concerned with the concerns of the people and never hesitated to visit, encourage and help people in remote and disadvantaged areas in times of natural disasters and enemy sabotage. Learning the wholehearted care for compatriots and fellow soldiers from comrade Le Kha Phieu, I myself and many of my fellow soldiers who are military veteran businessmen at that time always wanted to join the former Party leader to participate in the work of gratitude and social charity. We keep in mind that, as a soldier, when returning to do favourable business, we need to join hands and show our responsibility to the society. This is also an opportunity for us to build on the same path the late leader had walked on – a great honour!

Over the years, from my own personal feelings as well as hearing others comment, I was really impressed with the decisiveness of former General Secretary Le Kha Phieu. When determining something was the right thing, he did it resolutely and took responsibility. I myself, a private business owner, once fell into great trouble during the 1997 global economic crisis with large debts to repay in the immediate future. Without the timely and flexible policy adjustments of the Party and State, especially the breakthrough direction of former General Secretary Le Kha Phieu, perhaps my company would not have had the opportunity to be selected to pilot the non-criminalisation of economic relations. Thanks to that, we found ways to revive, pay debts, avoid losses of more than VND500 billion to the State and continue to do successful business until now. Later on, many businesses, especially private ones, enjoyed the effectiveness of this policy, thereby overcoming difficulties and developing strongly.

Former General Secretary Le Kha Phieu always cared deeply about entrepreneurs and businesses, particularly military veteran entrepreneurs. Therefore, when I proposed the establishment of the Vietnam Veteran Entrepreneurs’ Association, he strongly backed the idea and attended the opening ceremony as well as the first congress of the association. Thanks to the care from former General Secretary Le Kha Phieu, after more than six years of its establishment and over nearly two terms, the association’s organisational network has been expanded to 54 provinces and cities across the country. The former leader once said: “You are soldiers returning from military services to do business with little capital, but have strived to do effective business, this is valuable. Moreover, you have cared for people in difficulty, this is most laudable”. The encouragement of the former General Secretary is also the motivation for entrepreneurs like us to exert greater efforts and be more responsible at work.

During the last period of his life, despite weak health, former General Secretary Le Kha Phieu still showed strong support when gratitude programmes dedicated to fallen soldiers and war veterans were organised. The biggest wish of the members of the Vietnam Veteran Entrepreneurs’ Association finally came true as after many efforts at convincing him, former General Secretary Le Kha Phieu agreed to become the Honorary Founding Chairman of the Association. That was an unforgettable moment. Right at that moment, in front of the former Party chief, we all promised to try to work better, contribute more to the country, and strive to always be worthy of being Uncle Ho’s soldiers.

Upon hearing that former General Secretary Le Kha Phieu had passed away, we fell into a deep sorrow. I will always memorialise his love for his compatriots, comrades and fellow soldiers in general, and for my family in particular.

Le Van Kiem

Labour Hero of the Renovation Period
Chairman of the Vietnam Veteran Entrepreneurs’ Association
President of Long Thanh Golf Investment and Trading Joint Stock Company

Remember the first Political Chairman of Army Corps 2

Army Corps 2 has a special honour as the place where former Party General Secretary Le Kha Phieu had more than 20 years of service and dedication, including the first years of his revolutionary career as a political officer of the Army.

Maturing and developing from a soldier who held a gun to fight the enemy and a company political officer of Division 304 (one of the predecessor units of the Army Corps 2), comrade Le Kha Phieu paid special attention to building the Corps’ Party Committee and building a strong corps in terms of politics, ideology and organisation. In his capacity as the first Political Chairman of Army Corps 2 from 1974 to 1978, comrade Le Kha Phieu gave high a focus to Party building, the building of political and spiritual factors and Party and political work, while regularly appearing in fierce key battles to motivate the fighting spirit of soldiers. The campaigns and victories of Army Corps 2, culminating with the historic Ho Chi Minh Campaign, always saw the imprints of the political officer and the first Political Chairman of the Corps with his talent, virtue and deep thinking, vision and direction.

In the process of Army Corps 2’s construction, fighting and maturity, comrade Le Kha Phieu was always an exemplary leader with affection, close bonds and a deep care for cadres and soldiers. Later, in his leadership positions within the Party and the Army, comrade Le Kha Phieu visited the Corps a number of times and kindly asked after the cadres and soldiers. With a deep affection for the generations of cadres and soldiers who devoted their whole lives to the country, former General Secretary Le Kha Phieu travelled a long distance to the Army Corps 2 founding relic site in Ba Long Commune, Dak Rong District, Quang Tri Province on the occasion of its inauguration (May 4-2016), and met with many war veterans and his fellow soldiers. Visiting the Corps in early 2000, he encouraged the Corps to further promote the “lightning, reckless and sure-to-win” fighting tradition of an elite, major and heroic corps in the task of building a revolutionary, regular, elite and increasingly modern Corps, while constantly maintaining high alert and combat readiness to be worthy of being the key and strategic mobile corps of the heroic Vietnam People’s Army.

Upon hearing of comrade Le Kha Phieu’s passing, the Party Committee of Army Corps 2, the Corps and all of its officers and soldiers have infinitely mourned the news. With deep respect and gratitude, cadres and soldiers of the Army Corps 2 vow to strive to successfully complete all tasks to be worthy of the honour and pride of the Army Corps where former General Secretary Le Kha Phieu and many other leaders of the Party and Army grew up. Generations of Army Corps 2 cadres and soldiers will forever keep in mind the image of the Corps’ first Political Chairman.

Colonel Nguyen Thanh Tinh

Political Chairman of Army Corps 2