On August 20, at the Temple of National Hero Truong Dinh, Tinh Khe commune, Quang Ngai Provincial People's Committee organized a ceremony to commemorate the 162nd anniversary of National Hero Truong Dinh's suicide.
At the ceremony, the Central delegation led by Lieutenant General Nguyen Ba Luc - Deputy Chief of the General Staff of the Vietnam People's Army and the Quang Ngai Provincial delegation led by Mr. U Huan - Alternate Member of the Party Central Committee, Standing Deputy Secretary of the Provincial Party Committee, Chairman of the Vietnam Fatherland Front Committee of Quang Ngai province, along with representatives of departments, agencies, branches, associations, and unions offered flowers and incense to commemorate National Hero Truong Dinh.
National hero Truong Dinh was born and raised in Tu Cung village, now belonging to Tinh Khe commune, Quang Ngai province. In 1844, at the age of 24, he followed his father to the South, to Go Cong, Tien Giang province, now belonging to Dong Thap province, to start a career.
In 1854, in response to the court's reclamation policy, he brought assets to recruit poor people from Quang Nam and Quang Ngai to reclaim land, establish fields in Gia Thuan and build plantation soldiers, ready to fight when the country was at war.
In 1859, when the French colonialists attacked Gia Dinh citadel, Truong Dinh led troops to coordinate with the court army to fight the enemy, made many feats of arms and was promoted to Deputy Commander of Gia Dinh army.
In 1862, before the Hue court signed a peace treaty to cede three southeastern provinces to France and ordered him to disarm, Truong Dinh refused the court's order, stayed with the insurgents and people to continue fighting against France. With his prestige, he was honored by the insurgent leaders as "Binh Tay Dai Nguyen Soai".
After many years of leading the army against the French colonialists, Truong Dinh was seriously injured in the battle in the Go Cong region. On August 20, 1864, he committed suicide to preserve his integrity, when he was only 44 years old.
162 years have passed since National Hero Truong Dinh committed suicide, but his spirit, patriotism and determination to fight against foreign invaders are still respected and remembered by generations of Vietnamese people.
The uprising led by Truong Dinh became a milestone in the history of the nation's struggle against French colonialism, contributing to fostering the patriotic tradition and indomitable will of the Vietnamese people.
The memorial ceremony is an occasion to express gratitude to the son of Quang Ngai homeland - National Hero Truong Dinh; thereby educating patriotism, arousing pride and responsibility to preserve and promote the historical and cultural values of the homeland.
