Care for revolutionary heroes is a long-term, regular duty: Party chief

Hanoi (VNA) – Party General Secretary To Lam has highlighted Vietnam’s ongoing commitment to supporting its revolutionary heroes, calling it a long-term and regular duty of both the political system and society.

Speaking at a gathering in Hanoi on July 24, ahead of the 78th anniversary of the War Invalids and Martyrs’ Day (July 27), the Party leader underscored the importance of honouring those who sacrificed for national independence.

Co-hosted by the Ministry of Home Affairs, the Ministry of National Defence, the Ministry of Public Security, Nhan Dan (People) newspaper, Vietnam Television (VTV), and the Hanoi People’s Committee, the event saw the presence of 250 distinguished guests, including heroic Vietnamese mothers, ex-revolutionaries, heroes of the People's Armed Forces, Labour Heroes from the resistance era, and history witnesses.

It was also attended by State President Luong Cuong, Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh, Permanent member of the Party Central Committee's Secretariat Tran Cam Tu, President of the Vietnam Fatherland Front Central Committee Do Van Chien, along with other high-ranking officials.

In his address, General Secretary Lam traced Vietnam’s nearly century-long struggle under the Communist Party of Vietnam’s sound leadership, crediting national unity with overcoming immense hardships, repelling foreign invaders, securing independence, achieving reunification, and safeguarding sovereignty and territorial integrity. To secure those enormous victories, millions of cadres, soldiers, and compatriots fell down or devoted their youth and entire life to the revolution, the Fatherland's independence and freedom, and the people's happiness.

The annual War Invalids and Martyrs’ Day, established 78 years ago by President Ho Chi Minh, initially honoured wounded soldiers but then expanded post-reunification to commemorate war heroes, martyrs, invalids, their families, and other contributors. The occasion has become a solemn moment for the Party, army, and public to pay tribute to those who fought for the sake of the nation.

Reflecting on the past 78 years, he noted that a series of Party resolutions, State laws and policies have widened the scope of support for revolution contributors, refining benefits and expanding eligibility to better address their needs.

The ministries, agencies and localities were urged to thoroughly grasp and effectively follow the Resolution adopted at the 13th National Party Congress, Decree No. 14/CT-TW of the Party Central Committee’s Secretariat on the continued enhancement of leadership over affairs related to those with revolutionary merits, the Party Central Committee’s Resolution No. 42-NQ/TW on renewing and improving the quality of social policies to meet national construction and defence requirements in the new period, and the ordinance on preferential treatment for revolution contributors and its accompanying guidelines.

He urged relevant authorities to keep updating and enforcing preferential policies more effectively, proactively address proposals and legitimate aspirations of beneficiaries in a way that is both emotionally compassionate and legally sound, and streamline administrative procedures to ensure smooth delivery of financial support. This is particularly critical as Vietnam undergoes administrative restructuring and adopts a two-tier local government model.

The leader stressed the urgency of accelerating efforts to locate and repatriate martyrs’ remains, boosting international cooperation in information sharing, stepping up technology application to identify undocumented remains.

He also called for increased state budget allocations and the mobilisation of diverse social resources to support revolution contributors. Priorities include restoring martyrs’ cemeteries and memorials, improving housing and nursing facilities, and expanding access to healthcare, education, vocational training, and job opportunities for struggling families.

The General Secretary pushed for stronger support for military and police veterans, ensuring wounded soldiers, martyrs’ families, and other contributors have the means to improve livelihoods and integrate into community life.

He highlighted the role of the Vietnam Fatherland Front, socio-political organisations and the general public in caring for the contributors, urging all-level authorities to protect their rights promptly and effectively.

On the occasion, he and other leaders presented gifts to attendees as a gesture of gratitude.

Minister of Home Affairs Pham Thi Thanh Tra highlighted the dedications by over 9.2 million individuals to the revolution, including more than 1.2 million martyrs, nearly 140,000 heroic Vietnamese mothers, over 600,000 wounded or sick soldiers, and millions of others such as martyrs’ relatives, veterans, former political prisoners, resistance fighters, and Agent Orange victims.

Since 2024, over 7,000 backlogged cases have been resolved, with 2,400 martyrs officially recognised and more than 2,700 wounded soldiers or equivalent beneficiaries granted support.

In 2025, preferential allowances surged by over 70% compared to 2021, considerably improving recipients’ quality of life. Over the past two years, 41,800 houses for revolution contributors have been built or repaired, funded with 1.97 trillion VND (78.8 million USD) from the State budget and public donations.

Since early 2025, 1.4 trillion VND has been spent to support 3.26 million contributors during Lunar New Year and major holidays. Since 2019, 57,037 savings books worth more than 124 billion VND have been donated to revolution contributors.

Vietnam has also invested in building and renovating over 3,000 martyrs’ cemeteries and 4,000 memorials, which serve as educational hubs to preserve the nation’s revolutionary legacy. Currently, 98.6% of households of revolution contributors maintain a living standard at or above their local community’s average./.