The following is a birthday greeting from the Communist Party USA to the famous Vietnamese revolutionary, General Vo Nguyen Giap, on the occasion of his 100^th birthday.

Even though 100 years is a long time, you have, since your youth, managed to fill those years with bold and courageous actions beneficial to the Vietnamese people and humanity.

You and your family suffered terribly under the vicious blows of French imperialism, but your courage and determination did not falter. Along with the unforgettable Comrade Ho Chi Minh, you founded the Dong Minh (Vietnamese League for Independence), better known as the Viet Minh. Under your and comrade Ho’s leadership, this became an extremely effective vehicle for your nation’s independence struggle.

Immediately, you were tested in battle against Japanese imperialism, which sought to replace French control

After organizing successful guerilla warfare against the Japanese fascists, you thereafter lent your immense talents to the task of keeping French imperialism from restoring its stranglehold on your country. Your splendid leadership at Dien Bien Phu  and in other battles displayed both a skillful scientific approach and a bold strategic and tactical imagination. To you belongs a great part of the credit for those victories, which induced the French government to give up. But by design, these were people’s victories, because you always saw the war of liberation as a people’s struggle.

Then when the United States intervened massively in Vietnam, subjecting the Vietnamese people to the horrors of total war, you were up to the task of defeating this stronger form of imperialism also. As minister of defense of your country, and thus part of both the political and military leadership, you again played a key role in bringing about the expulsion of the U.S. troops from your country and the defeat of the puppet “South Vietnamese” regime.

For a long time, your writings on people’s war will serve as a guide for those who seek to liberate their countries from oppression. Your distinction between mere guerrilla warfare and a true people’s war will be remembered by future generations.

Once the fighting was over, you turned your talents to helping to solve the peacetime problems of a nation ravaged by war. Your work to develop the scientific basis for the reconstruction of your country was of great value. And in spite of the passing years, you have always brought a fresh perspective to every perplexing issue.

Warrior, scholar, philosopher and author! Please accept the congratulations of the Communist Party of the USA on the occasion of your 100^th birthday. We send our best wishes, also, to your family, to the Communist Party of Vietnam and to the Vietnamese people.

Photo: Vo Nguyen Giap, far right, discusses military operations with President Ho Chi Minh, center, during the historic battle of Dien Bien Phu, in which Vietnamese forces defeated the French in May 1954. (VNS)

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