War Invalids and Martyrs Day, 27 July

In 1947 the resistance against French colonial rule was only in its second year, and the number of wounded soldiers grew every month. On President Hồ Chí Minh's instruction, a meeting of army bodies, mass organisations and local officials was held in June 1947 in Hùng Sơn commune, Đại Từ district, Thái Nguyên province, and chose 27 July as National War Invalids Day.

On 27 July 1947 the first rally took place while the resistance was still in great hardship. People across the free zones gave money, rice and clothes for the wounded. What began as a day to help injured soldiers gradually became the day the whole country turns towards those who shed their blood for national independence.

On 17 July 1947 President Hồ Chí Minh wrote to the organising committee of the first War Invalids Day. In the letter he offered a silk shirt, a month of his salary and the cost of one meal for himself and the staff of the Presidential Palace. That letter became a lasting reminder of the duty of gratitude that every Vietnamese generation passes on to the next.

War invalids are those who sacrificed their families and their own blood to defend the Fatherland and their compatriots.

President Hồ Chí Minh, letter of 17 July 1947

After victory in the resistance against France, National War Invalids Day was renamed War Invalids and Martyrs Day in 1955. The new name honours both the wounded and the fallen, and also their families, the mothers, wives and children who bore the greatest loss.

During the resistance war against the United States, millions of young people went to the front. Many families lost two or three children, and many mothers saw a son off only to receive a death notice later. From that grief came the title Heroic Vietnamese Mother, set out in an ordinance in 1994 to honour mothers who gave their children to the nation.

In the same period the movement to repay gratitude spread across the country, with houses of gratitude, gratitude savings books and the adoption of Heroic Mothers into local care. So 27 July is not only a day of remembrance; it is also a time to take stock of the concrete help given to people with meritorious service over the year.

The first legal text on benefits for war invalids and martyrs' families was Decree 20/SL of 16 February 1947 issued by the President, which set disability pensions and survivor allowances. Since then the policy has been refined in several stages, notably through the ordinances on people with meritorious service of 1994 and 2005.

The law in force today is Ordinance 02/2020/UBTVQH14 on preferential treatment for people with meritorious service to the revolution, effective from 1 July 2021, together with Decree 131/2021/ND-CP guiding its implementation. Benefits include monthly allowances, health insurance, convalescent care, housing support, education preferences and help with jobs for relatives.

For businesses the policy does not have to stay on paper. Many employers create job opportunities for the children of martyrs and war invalids, and keep leave flexible so that employees who are war invalids can attend convalescent care or regular check-ups. It is a simple, lasting way to turn gratitude into action.

Trường Sơn National Martyrs Cemetery lies in Gio Linh district, Quảng Trị province. It was built after reunification and inaugurated on 10 April 1977. More than ten thousand soldiers who fell along the Trường Sơn route rest here, their graves arranged by home region so relatives can find them.

Alongside Trường Sơn, Route 9 Cemetery and the Quảng Trị Citadel draw many visitors every July. Across the country there are thousands of martyrs cemeteries at provincial, district and commune level. Many graves still have no name and carry only the words unidentified martyr.

The search for and recovery of martyrs' remains continues today, carried out by specialist teams, veterans and, increasingly, DNA identification. Each time a fallen soldier is identified and brought home, the whole village gathers to welcome back a child who had been away for decades.

On the evenings of 26 and 27 July, candlelight ceremonies take place at almost every martyrs cemetery. Youth union members, students, veterans and local people lay long lines of candles between the headstones. In Hà Nội, Party and State leaders offer incense at the Monument to Fallen Heroes on Bắc Sơn street and at the Hồ Chí Minh Mausoleum.

27 July is not a public holiday under the Labour Code. Offices and companies keep working, but often set aside the afternoon for a cemetery visit, calls on policy families or gifts for war invalids in their area. Many workplaces invite voluntary contributions to the gratitude fund.

For young people it is a day to listen. An afternoon sitting with grandparents or with a veteran from the neighbourhood, hearing about the war years, can teach more than any textbook. Gratitude begins with remembering the names and the stories of those who gave their lives.