“April 30 – Symbol of peace, independence and aspiration to rise up”

April 30 Victory - Great Fortune of the Nation
Associate Professor, Dr. Pham Thanh Hung (born in 1954) in Nga Son, Thanh Hoa. He is known as a dedicated teacher, tirelessly devoted to his 42 years in the university. However, before being a teacher, Associate Professor, Dr. Pham Thanh Hung was a soldier, fighting bravely on the battlefield.
Recalling the victory of April 30, 1975, Associate Professor Dr. Pham Thanh Hung shared that this was a great victory, a miraculous feat, seemingly beyond the imagination of many soldiers who had to be discharged early and return to the Northern rear like him.
According to him, the April 30 victory should also be understood as “a great blessing” not only because the country was free of foreign invaders, but also because from now on, future generations can live in peace, study and contribute to an independent and prosperous Vietnam.
“That day, when hearing the news of victory broadcast on Voice of Vietnam Radio, many people cheered, but many others burst into tears and choked up. As for me and my comrades – the wounded soldiers returning from the battlefield – we looked up at the sky of Hanoi and silently recited the verse: “The blue sky is ours…”. Reading that verse, tears welled up in our eyes. It was hard to imagine this moment before. From now on, the sky would no longer have a trace of smoke from American planes. The sky would be clear blue, a peaceful blue, the blue of life. “April 30” – those four words, those four sounds, over the past half century have become four words symbolizing the beginning of an era of independence and freedom, an era of peace, of the country being reunited,” Associate Professor Dr. Pham Thanh Hung emotionally recalled. “Lend me your leaves, I will return victorious and take care of the tree to repay the debt...”
When mentioning the contributions of intellectuals in the resistance war, especially students and staff of Hanoi University of Science (now VNU), Associate Professor Dr. Pham Thanh Hung could not hide his emotion.
He recalled memories from the Fall of 1971. In those days, students from universities in the North brought their books to the lecture halls amid the good news of the Route 9-Southern Laos Front. The sound of gunfire from the South seemed to echo back to Hanoi, reminding students to be ready for battle. The country needed many gunmen. Students from Hanoi University of Science as well as other universities in Hanoi were “distracted” and could not sit still while studying because of the war news from the South.
“We, the students of the General Department, practiced military training, played sports, and improved our physical strength, preparing for the military examination. We practiced marching. The branches of the Ha Noi cajuput trees were not tall at that time. We picked cajuput leaves from the roadside to make camouflage rings. Looking at the rows of cajuput trees with sparse leaves, a young poet among us students whispered an apology and promised the trees: Please lend us your leaves, when we return victorious, we will take care of the trees and repay the debt...”, Associate Professor, Dr. Pham Thanh Hung recalled.
“We set off, still remembering the images of the student groups joining the army in previous years and who knows, there will be many more groups in the future. Students and young lecturers of Hanoi National University were spread out to different regiments and military branches across the country. No one was discouraged, no one deserted, everyone fought, sacrificed one by one, shed blood and sweat for the final victory of the historic April 30th,” Associate Professor, Dr. Pham Thanh Hung continued.
Of the 400 students who put down their pens and went to war from Hanoi University that day, fifty did not return, they fell scattered across the Quang Tri battlefield.
Currently, on the campus of the University of Natural Sciences, VNU, there is a memorial engraved with the names of 108 martyrs and thousands of cadres and students of the University who participated in the resistance wars to defend the country. It is a sacred symbol of the spirit of serving the Fatherland in all circumstances. Promoting tradition, firmly stepping into the new era of national development
Promoting the heroic tradition of Hanoi National University, VNU today is a modern, multidisciplinary, multi-field university model, gathering a team of intellectuals, scholars, and leading scientists of the whole country.
Assoc. Prof. Dr. Pham Thanh Hung shared: “The scientific and training achievements of VNU have become the pride of generations of staff and students of VNU as well as of the people of the whole country. We believe that, promoting the tradition of the old Hanoi National University, VNU will not only be the cradle of training and producing talented scientific staff of the country but also become a pillar of science, technology and innovation, a source of creative inspiration for national intelligence.
The anniversary of the Liberation of the South and National Reunification Day is an occasion for gratitude, pride and continuity. It is a day of gratitude to the generations who have fallen, a reminder of the value of peace, and also a motivation for today's generations to continue to "strive" to build a strong and prosperous country.