PANO - Army Corps 2 on May 17th held a ceremony to mark its 40th founding anniversary and receive the Ho Chi Minh Order.

Authorized by the State President, Dinh The Huynh, Politburo member, Head of the Party Central Committee Commission for Popularization and Education pinned the order on the corps’ military flag “Determination to Win”.

Dinh The Huynh, Politburo member, Head of the Party Central Committee Commission for Popularization and Education pinnes the order on the corps’ military flag

The corps was the first strategic mobile regular corps founded in the Southern battlefield. Some months after its establishment, the corps teamed with armed forces of Military Zone 5 and Tri Thien Military Zone to win continuous victories in different campaigns, contributing to turning the battlefield in favour for us.

Encouraged by General Vo Nguyen Giap, the unit broke Phan Rang steel shield and remote defence line of the enemy, liberating six coastal Central provinces.

Attentively, in the historical Ho Chi Minh Campaign, it bravely destroyed many major targets to the east and southeast of Saigon (present Ho Chi Minh City). Its tanks and ground forces successfully took control the Independence Palace, taking alive the cabinet of the puppet regime in the South and raising the flag over the Southern Vietnamese presidential palace, signalizing the entire victory of the Ho Chi Minh Campaign.

In peacetime, the unit has outstandingly defended the southwestern and northern borders of the nation and done international obligation in Laos and Cambodia.

Moreover, its 65 groups and 37 individuals were titled “Hero of People’s Armed Force”.

Addressing the ceremony, Senior Lieutenant General Do Ba Ty, Deputy Minister of National Defence and Chief of the General Staff of the Vietnam People’s Army congratulated the unit on its achievements gained over the past four decades and reminded it to raise combat strength of party cells, quality of training and combat readiness posture, capability of mobility and fulfil excellently its assigned missions. He also asked the unit to ensure living standard for troops and further build up military-civilian solidarity.

Translated by Ha Thanh