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Sr. Lt. Gen. Pham Hoai Nam speaks at the event. |
At the event, generations of naval troops, particularly those engaging in clearing U.S. torpedoes and magnetic bombs, reminisced about the glorious tradition, great sacrifices and contribution of Vietnamese troops and people. They also highlighted valuable lessons in safeguarding national sovereignty over sea and islands in the new situation.
In his speech, Political Commissar of the Navy Lieutenant General Nguyen Van Bong underlined the feat-of-arms of Northern troops and people in countering U.S. blockade with the Navy as the key force. This was one of the typical feats-of-arms of the Navy and a miracle in the resistance war against U.S. imperialists.
Gen. Bong stressed that it was the victory of the thinking of “daring to fight, determined to fight, know how to fight and determined to win.” It was also the victory of wisdom, bravery, and creativeness in neutralizing all kinds of continuously-upgraded torpedoes and magnetic bombs of the U.S. Moreover, it was the victory of bravery and unyielding will of the Vietnamese people, of the combination of rudimentary and modern techniques, the close coordination between forces inside and outside the military.
According to the Navy’s political commissar, the Navy teamed with other forces and destroyed over 13,000 torpedoes and magnetic bombs, crushing the U.S. imperialists’ malicious plots and blockade.
He attributed the victory to the sound leadership of the Party, the timely direction of the Central Military Commission (CMC) and the Ministry of National Defense (MND), and the direct guidance of the Party Committee and Chain-of-command of the Navy. In this victory, the synergy of the regular troops, local troops, militia force and local people was promoted.
Addressing the ceremony, Deputy Defense Minister Senior Lieutenant General Pham Hoai Nam congratulated naval troops and relevant forces on the feat-of-arms and emphasized that the CMC, MND are grateful to heroes, fallen troops, sick and wounded soldiers, their families, and other participating officers and troops for making this historic feat-of-arms.
To meet the task requirement in the new situation, Gen. Nam asked the Navy to promote traditions and drawn lessons. It should focus on the political and ideological education for troops, embracing the Party’s guideline and policy on the mission of defending national maritime sovereignty, and building a politically-strong navy.
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An artistic performance at the celebration |
The Navy was also requested to raise training quality, combat readiness capability, master equipped modern weapons and materiel, team with local forces to create a shore-sea-island defense posture and a firm defensive area, boost information dissemination, give support to fishermen and well conduct disaster prevention and search and rescue operations, among others.
Translated by Mai Huong