(VOVworld) – The Ministry of Defense on Friday held a ceremony to mark 55^th anniversary of the Ho Chi Minh trail and the Truong Son Soldiers’ Day  (May 19^th).

The Ho Chi Minh trail (Photo: VNA)

The certificate, recognizing the route as a special national relic, was also presented at the ceremony. Addressing the event, Senior Lieutenant General Ngo Xuan Lich, head of the General Department of Politics, reiterated that on May 19, 1959, a “special military mission” was assigned the task of opening the route to transport military supplies to assist the southern battlefield during the US war. He added the team later was in charge of transferring officials, soldiers and documents between the north and the south. After half a year, the Truong Son route had become an important bridge linking the great northern rear and the southern front line. The historic route is considered one of the decisive factors in the success of the war against American imperialists to liberate the South and reunite the country.

Major General Do Giang Nam, the commander of 12 army corps founded based on 559 unit of the Truong Son soldiers division, talked about the significance of the legendary trail: "The Ho Chi Minh trail is the symbol of the steadfast will and determination of the people, Party and the army to liberate the South and reunite the country. Thanks to this trail, we managed to transport more than 2 million tons of weapons and ammunition. Vietnamese soldiers operated successfully together with tanks and artillery on the Southern battlefields. This made a great contribution to our success in 1975". 

Deputy Prime Minister Vu Duc Dam also handed over the special national heritage certificate for the Truong Son trail to Army Corps 12 and representatives from the 11 provinces along the route.