70 years later, the memories remain vivid.

During our trip to Thanh Hoa province at the beginning of 2024, we were guided by a colleague from Thanh Hoa Newspaper to Phu Son apartment complex, Phu Son ward, Thanh Hoa city, to meet Ms. Vu Thi Kim Lan - a former civilian worker who, along with 110,000 other civilian workers from Thanh Hoa, contributed to the victory at Dien Bien Phu. Her story took us back in time to that sacred moment 70 years ago, allowing us to relive the atmosphere of those arduous yet heroic days.

Beautiful Memories of a Time of Fiery Battles : Located on the second floor of the Phu Son apartment building, Mrs. Vu Thi Kim Lan's family home is small but cozy. Our first impression of Mrs. Lan was that of a petite woman with white hair and a kind smile. Knowing we had come all the way from Dien Bien, Mrs. Lan repeatedly shook our hands, saying, "You're so precious!" That's why, as soon as she set down a steaming, fragrant cup of coffee, she reminisced about a story from over 70 years ago. Back then, in preparation for the Dien Bien Phu Campaign, the whole country went to war. In Thanh Hoa province, people volunteered to join the army, and others volunteered to be civilian laborers on the front lines with fervent enthusiasm. Not to be outdone by the strong men, many groups of female civilian laborers, carrying supplies on foot, also enthusiastically traversed over 500km through forests, streams, and mountains to transport provisions to the front lines. And so, the petite girl, who had just turned 19, from Xuan Bang village, Quang Long commune, Quang Xuong district, Thanh Hoa province, also wrote a letter volunteering to go to war…

Mrs. Vu Thi Kim Lan and her daughter-in-law reminisced about the glorious memories of the past.

Ms. Vu Thi Kim Lan recalled: “When the campaign needed a large amount of food supplies, in my hometown of Quang Xuong district, the whole village and commune participated in transporting supplies to Dien Bien Phu. In early 1954, along with 110,000 laborers from Thanh Hoa province, including those using carts and carrying poles, I volunteered to carry rice from Quang Xuong district to the battlefield. The stream of people transporting food worked day and night without rest. My supplies at that time consisted of a carrying pole and two baskets with about 40 kg of rice on my shoulders. Along the way, if we needed to cook, we would replenish the quantity at the next station before continuing on our journey. In those days, the roads were extremely difficult, traversing through Thanh Hoa province to Hoa Binh and then Son La … all through the forest, making food transportation very arduous. In some sections, we had to carry the load straight up because the roads were too narrow. Meals consisted of nothing more than a little pressed salt and wild vegetables. Throughout the long journey with the heavy carrying pole on my shoulders, there was no place to rest. We would collapse at every stopping point.” "We'd lay down on our carrying poles, use them as makeshift pillows, and then continue our journey…". And yet, 110,000 laborers from Thanh Hoa province eagerly set off, as numerous as a festival procession. Group after group followed each other, heading north into the Northwest. When crossing difficult sections, especially streams, the strong helped the weaker ones to ensure the journey continued. Whenever enemy planes roared overhead, Mrs. Lan and everyone else had to put down their loads and lie face down on the ground to avoid the bullets. Fortunately, throughout their journey, neither she nor her comrades were injured. Perhaps it was the dense forests that sheltered and protected the laborers… “The hardships and fatigue during the Dien Bien Phu campaign were immense. But thinking about fighting to drive out the invaders who were attacking our homeland, everyone was the same, wholeheartedly determined to serve the campaign,” Mrs. Lan recalled with emotion. And a memorable moment in her life: Even today, 70 years later, Mrs. Lan still cannot forget the moment when the "Determined to Fight, Determined to Win" flag of our soldiers flew atop the De Castries bunker. Mrs. Lan recounted: "On May 7, 1954, I was present at Dien Bien Phu. Hearing the news of the victory, everyone was overjoyed and excited, forgetting all fatigue and feeling only pride in our country. The soldiers and civilian workers were all like stars in the sky because they were so happy. After so much hardship, toil, and sacrifice, the campaign was victorious, and Dien Bien Phu was liberated." Victory was ours, but Mrs. Lan's journey in the Dien Bien Phu Campaign did not end there. After the campaign, she was recruited into the army, tasked with caring for wounded soldiers in Treatment Team No. 6 and participating in transporting wounded soldiers back to their hometowns. Along that journey, she also had many memorable experiences. Ms. Lan recalled: “That year, when we brought the wounded soldiers back to Thieu Do village, Thieu Hoa district, one of them died right in the middle of the vast field. The medic was too exhausted and temporarily withdrew to rest so he could have the strength to treat the other wounded. So I was the only one standing guard over my comrade's body from 6 pm the day before until 6 am the next morning. At that time, I didn't feel afraid at all, only saddened that my comrade couldn't enjoy the joy of victory. It wasn't until early the next morning, when the medic returned, that he embraced me, deeply moved that I had fulfilled my duty.” Ms. Lan's story transported us back 70 years, to a time when the entire Thanh Hoa province looked towards Dien Bien Phu with unwavering determination to defeat the invading enemy. Along with Ms. Lan, tens of thousands of other Thanh Hoa people made significant contributions, both in terms of manpower and resources, to the victory at Dien Bien Phu. And then many names of sons and daughters of Thanh Hoa entered history, such as: Hero To Vinh Dien, from Nong Truong commune, Nong Cong district, who sacrificed himself by using his body to block a cannon; the image of Mr. Trinh Dinh Bam, a civilian worker from Dinh Lien commune, Yen Dinh district, dismantling his ancestral altar to make wheels for a wheelbarrow to transport food for the resistance war; and many other heroic examples, noble actions, and beautiful deeds… We – the young generation of Dien Bien today – with all our gratitude, thank the immense contributions of the army and people of Thanh Hoa that made the victory "renowned throughout the world, shaking the earth" to create the beautiful land of Dien Bien as it is today.

Text and photos: THUY BIEN

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