Staff of the Vietnam General Department of Logistics provide medical checkups for locals.
Although they had to face and overcome a lot of hardship and danger on the way to the former revolution base, all members of the delegation were so delighted when meeting locals, who had wholeheartedly taken care of Lao revolutionary troops and Vietnamese volunteer soldiers during their joint struggle against the common enemy.
They were welcomed by Chief of Laohoung village grouping Bunta Navongta and the elderly as the special guests.
Navongta said that he was so proud because his forefathers in Laohoung Cluster-villages had protected President Kaysone Phomvihane and Vietnamese volunteer soldiers against a series of raids of French colonialists 70 years ago. With the constant trust in their just struggle for national independence and freedom, local people tried their best to protect volunteer soldiers, despite the enemy’s brutal tortures and guns.
As Navongta told us, after leaving Laohoung on Jan. 20, 1949 to go to Phalong village in Phiengsa village grouping, Xiengkhor district, President Kaysone Phomvihane and 26 soldiers held a swearing-in ceremony to establish the Latxavong Team, the forerunner of the Lao People’s Army. Thanks to the leadership of the Lao People’s Revolutionary Party and the support of the Vietnam People’s Army, the Lao People’s Army has increasingly developed, defeated all invaders, and liberated the country.
The village head also expressed his delight at welcoming Major General Vu Ba Trung, Deputy Political Commissar of the General Department of Logistics, and Vietnamese military doctors.
In turn, General Trung said that in spite of the differences in languages and geographical features, the two peoples shared similarities in their historical struggles against foreign invaders in the past as well as in their current national construction and development cause. Therefore, the Vietnamese people and military would always regard the Lao people as brothers and always share with them any difficulties and wholeheartedly support them in developing their country, he noted.
After a week staying in Laohoung Cluster-villages, Vietnamese guests said goodbye to the locals. The Vietnamese doctors could feel deep sentiment of the Lao brothers when seeing them waving their hands to bid farewell even when the envoy of cars carrying the Vietnamese delegation was moving away./.
