Mr. Duong Thanh Toan, from Muong Dieu, Dam Doi district, Ca Mau. At the age of 17, Mr. Toan volunteered to join the army, receiving the task of repairing weapons.
At the age of 22, he was ordered to gather in the North at Chac Bang wharf, Tri Phai commune, Thoi Binh district, Ca Mau. At the age of 92, Mr. Toan still cannot forget those historic days.
Mr. Toan explained why the cadres, soldiers, and students all waved goodbye to their relatives and fellow countrymen when boarding the train. That was to say they would return in 2 years because everyone thought that after 2 years there would be a national election and the country would be independent. Unexpectedly, it took 21 years for the country to be unified.
The first days in the North were extremely surprising, but the Southern people living in the North were willing to help the people of Thanh Hoa in particular and the people of the North in general. It was his comrades and friends who organized his wedding.
He thought that getting married was an important matter at that time, but thanks to his comrades and the people, he was able to do it. This motivated him to work twice as hard to repay the people's kindness.
70 years ago, Nguyen Thi Sanh's mother asked the soldiers from the South who had gathered in the North to give Uncle Ho a Southern star apple tree so that he could plant it in his garden. Mr. Huynh Dam - former Chairman of the Central Committee of the Vietnam Fatherland Front - recalled: Later, when I went to Hanoi, I asked in detail about the Southern star apple tree in Uncle Ho's garden. People close to Uncle Ho said that the Southern star apple tree was carefully cared for by Uncle Ho so it remained lush.
According to Mr. Huynh Dam, Ca Mau does not call it a temple but a shrine to Uncle Ho with the meaning that Uncle Ho still lives forever in the hearts of Ca Mau people. At the shrine to Uncle Ho in Thoi Binh district, Ca Mau province, there is a star apple tree grafted from a star apple tree in Uncle Ho's garden.
Poet Nguyen Ba believes that the 200-day gathering to the North was not just a gathering to leave, but during those 200 days, the still very young revolutionary government granted land to the people and encouraged them to produce. This created great logistics for the revolution later on.
The activities to celebrate the 70th anniversary of the Northward movement (1954 - 2024) will take place from November 9 to 26, 2024. Thereby, to strengthen political ideology education, patriotism, national pride and self-esteem; to arouse the spirit of great solidarity, self-reliance and aspiration for national development. At the same time, to propagate, introduce and promote the homeland and friendly and hospitable people of Ca Mau, contributing to improving the material and spiritual life of the people.
In particular, the 70th anniversary of the Northward regrouping event (1954 - 2024) has the theme: "Deep love and heavy gratitude". The celebration program is associated with a theatrical art program recreating the history, land, and people of Ca Mau; the heroic history of revolutionary struggle in the struggle for national liberation, as well as in the construction and development of Ca Mau homeland in the integration period.
The ceremony was held at the monument area of the train gathering to the North (Song Doc town, Tran Van Thoi district) on the evening of November 16, 2024, broadcast live on VTV1 - Vietnam Television and Ca Mau Radio - Television; and rebroadcast on television stations of provinces and cities nationwide.
