The event was attended by 200 delegates, including former pioneering youths and members of youth unions from the provinces of Nghe An, Ha Tinh, Quang Binh, Quang Tri, Thua Thien - Hue, and Quang Nam in the central region, Dak Lak, Gia Lai, Kon Tum and Dak Nong in the Central Highlands, and Binh Phuoc in the south, which the trail traversed.
In his remarks, Secretary of the Ho Chi Minh Communist Youth Union Central Committee Ngo Van Cuong said the Ho Chi Minh Trail, also called Truong Son Trail, went down in the country's history as a legendary route and a miracle, and became a symbol for educating today's young generation about the revolutionary ideal and the spirit of overcoming challenges.
It also holds practical significance in the current national construction and defence, he noted.
Sixty-five years ago, to carry out the Party Central Committee and the Central Military Commission's policy on opening a route to deliver support to the revolution in the South, thanks to extraordinary efforts and the determination of reunifying the nation, forces built a strategic transportation route from rudimentary trails along the majestic Truong Son Mountain Range.
The Truong Son - Ho Chi Minh Trail spanned nearly 17,000km, including five vertical routes along the Truong Son Range and 21 horizontal ones connecting strategic areas, fuel pipelines, and communication lines, among many others. The system of arteries served as not only a strategic military transportation and logistics network but also a fierce battlefront, vividly demonstrating the solidarity in combat among Vietnam, Laos, and Cambodia.
As part of the activities commemorating the trail's 65th anniversary, between May 15 and 17, representatives of the former pioneering youths and youth union members held a programme in the provinces to express gratitude to the war veterans and former pioneering youths who once performed duties along the legendary trail.
