War invalid Nguyen Duc Diem (R). (Photo: VOV)

“One of my arms was amputated due to war wounds. At first I was very depressed. Then, remembering President Ho Chi Minh’s saying ‘Down but not out’, I tried to adapt to my injuries. First I worked as a tailor. Then I switched to running an automobile transport business. I’m very satisfied with what I’ve been able to do,” said war invalid Nguyen Duc Diem.

Diem was born into a family with a revolutionary tradition. In 1968, as the American resistance war heated up, Diem joined the army and was stationed in central Quang Binh province. After losing right arm in the battlefield in 1971, Diem left the army and returned to his homeland, where he successively worked in tailoring, animal husbandry, and doing small business transactions to make ends meet.

In 1995, with the support of the Thai Nguyen Cooperative Union, Diem mobilized 7 households in his locality to set up the Tan Phu Automobile Transport Cooperative. Since then, Diem’s cooperative has expanded its business to restaurants and hotels, has created 150 jobs, and has earned an average 85 million USD per year. 

“Diem has made a great contribution to the local economy. His cooperative supports poor households and local social welfare,” said Phan Ha Bac, Secretary of Phu Xa hamlet’s Party Committee, Thai Nguyen city.

The crane system of the Tan Phu Automobile Transport Cooperative. (Photo: VOV)

The Tan Phu Automobile Transport Cooperative has received the Third-class Labor Order from the State President and certificates of merit from the Prime Minister and the Vietnam Cooperative Union. Ban Phuc Quang of the Thai Nguyen provincial Department of Labor, Invalids, and Social Affairs, said Thai Nguyen has more than 130 national contributors, 7% of whom are war invalids. Many have been role models in business and production.

“With the spirit of soldiers, many war invalids in the locality have successfully run businesses, creating many jobs for locals. We plan to hold a ceremony to honor them,” said Quang.