Ho Chi Minh Square in Dong Hoi City, marking the 68th anniversary of President Ho Chi Minh's visit to Quang Binh and Vinh Linh - Photo: NTL
Unwavering loyalty in the heartland of Central Vietnam
Tracing back through history, Quang Binh and Quang Tri have a long-standing bond within the larger family of five Quang provinces, which includes Quang Binh, Quang Tri, Quang Nam, Quang Ngai , and Quang Duc (present-day Hue City). Particularly during the two wars of resistance against France and the United States, the relationship between Quang Binh and Quang Tri became even stronger, their bond even deeper...
The history of the Southern land during the period of territorial expansion bears the strong imprint of the famous figure from Quang Binh, Le Thanh Hau Nguyen Huu Canh (1650-1700), during the reign of Lord Minh Nguyen Phuc Chu (1691-1725). Following Lord Minh's orders, Le Thanh Hau Nguyen Huu Canh surveyed Cambodia (1698), established the Dong Nai region, Saigon-Gia Dinh, recruited people from the five Quang regions to cultivate land, and established many new villages.
The reason we trace back 327 years (1698-2025) to the time when Lord Nguyen Huu Canh "carried swords to expand the territory. The South longed for Thang Long" is because the five Quang regions under the Nguyen dynasty, according to the Dai Nam Nhat Thong Chi, stretched from south of the Ngang Pass to Binh De Pass (bordering Quang Ngai and Binh Dinh); among them, Quang Binh and Quang Tri were "sea and forest connected" in the narrowest strip of land in the central region.
June 16, 1957, became a momentous historical milestone for the people and military of Quang Binh and Vinh Linh when President Ho Chi Minh visited. He instructed them: “Quang Binh and Vinh Linh are on the front line of the North, bordering the South. Everything you do here, good or bad, will have a certain impact on the revolution in the South and on the defense of the North. If the enemy engages in any reckless activities, Quang Binh and Vinh Linh must confront them first.”
During the war against the Americans, Quang Binh and Vinh Linh were the "big home" in the rear of the North and the "big front line" of the South. The people of the two provinces united as one, "Sharing every grain of rice, whether full or hungry, we remain true to our bond, sharing both bitterness and sweetness," determined to defeat the invading American enemy.
In Vinh Linh, the soldiers from North Vietnam, many of whom were sons and daughters of Quang Binh province, lived and fought on both sides of the Hien Luong River. They were sheltered, protected, and loved by the people of Vinh Linh. Many of those soldiers who "ate the North's food and fought the South's enemy" perished along the two sides of the demarcation line. Martyr Nguyen Ba Me (Quang Phu, Dong Hoi City) is one of them.
Martyr Nguyen Ba Me enlisted in May 1965, serving in Company 9, Battalion 6, Regiment 270, Military Region 4, stationed in Vinh Chap commune. While crossing the Hien Luong River to participate in the battle at Ha Trung village, Gio Chau commune (Gio Linh district) on June 17, 1969, he and 53 comrades bravely sacrificed their lives, their remains becoming one with the forgiving land of Quang Tri.
Upon hearing the news that Quang Binh and Quang Tri provinces have been united, Nguyen Van Uoc, son of martyr Nguyen Ba Me, was deeply moved: “Actually, wherever my father and his comrades fell, it was all on this Vietnamese soil. But now, every time our family comes to light incense for my father, we no longer have to say we came from Quang Binh; he rests right here in his homeland. The homeland has become wider, larger, more tolerant, and more profound.”
Friendship and solidarity in the border region.
During the war against the US, Quang Binh and Vinh Linh suffered heavy destruction from enemy bombs and bullets. With foresight, President Ho Chi Minh and the Central Party Committee decided to send more than 30,000 children aged 5 to 15 from Vinh Linh, Quang Binh to the North to "preserve the strength and lineage," to be trained to become useful members of society, and to return later to rebuild their homeland.
These two historical evacuations were codenamed K8 and K10. However, there was a third evacuation, known as Plan 15 (K15), which Quang Tri province hastily implemented immediately after the first liberation of Quang Tri (May 1, 1972), evacuating approximately 80,000 people from the war zones of Hai Lang and Trieu Phong to Quang Binh and Vinh Linh.
The border area between Quang Binh and Quang Tri provinces - Photo: NTL
During wartime, amidst fierce bombing raids by American planes day and night, the people of Vinh Linh and Le Thuy implemented the "four sharing" slogan (sharing homes, sharing possessions, sharing fire, sharing blood) with their compatriots in Trieu Phong. Each family that adopted a fraternal relationship cared for one family evacuated from Quang Tri, with some families even taking in two or three families from Quang Tri. The spirit of "sharing food and clothing" was highly developed. People from both provinces protected each other, sharing whatever food they had, whether it was rice or cassava and sweet potatoes, determined to ensure no one went hungry or suffered from illness.
Returning to Sen Binh village (Sen Thuy), we revisited Mr. Nguyen Van Yen and his wife, Le Thi Thiep. Mrs. Thiep, originally from Quang Tri, was evacuated to K15. Her family lived in Trieu Do commune (Trieu Phong district). In May 1972, the entire family of six braved bombing and shelling to escape to the North. Upon reaching the border area, they were welcomed by the people of Sen Binh village. During her time in Sen Binh, Mrs. Le Thi Thiep met Mr. Nguyen Van Yen, a guerrilla fighter from Chap Bac village (Vinh Chap district), and they became husband and wife.
In the humorous anecdote from the past, "a grain of rice split in two, a potato divided into four," according to K15, Mr. and Mrs. Nguyen Van Yen and Le Thi Thiep sincerely said: "Now, there's no more distinction between 'his hometown' and 'my hometown' anymore. Quang Binh and Quang Tri are now one family, how could we not be happy? The story sounds a bit like the story of Vinh Hoang: 'Knowing that Quang Binh and Quang Tri would one day share the same sea and sky, we pioneered the way to Quang Binh first. We went ahead 53 years earlier, that's not a small number!'"
An epic saga on the Nam Thach Han irrigation project.
The Nam Thach Han large-scale irrigation project in the west of Quang Tri town is nearly 50 years old, spanning two centuries. During our visit to the Nam Thach Han large-scale irrigation project in early May 2025, we met again with those who once built the "mountain reservoir," such as engineer Pham Phuoc, former Chairman of the People's Committee of Quang Binh province, former Deputy Head of the Command Board and Head of the Technical Department of the construction site from March 1977 to January 1983; Mr. Phan Duc Doai, former Secretary of the Bo Trach District Party Committee, former Commander of the Bo Trach Irrigation Division; Mr. Bui Cong Thoe, former Vice Chairman of the People's Committee of Dong Hoi town, officer of the Dong Hoi Town Irrigation Division...
Mr. Pham Phuoc recalled: After the complete liberation of South Vietnam and the establishment of Binh Tri Thien province, the Party and State paid great attention to economic development and overcoming the consequences of war in Central Vietnam, prioritizing agricultural development to ensure food security for the people. This was the first and largest key irrigation project of the Ministry of Water Resources and Binh Tri Thien province in South Vietnam. Construction began on March 8, 1977.
“But why did the participating forces have the designations of Irrigation Divisions?” I wondered. Mr. Phan Duc Doai explained: “The Nam Thach Han construction site at that time was large-scale, entirely manual, meaning it relied mainly on human strength with only hands and rudimentary tools. Therefore, it required a large workforce, with thousands of people permanently stationed at the site, reaching approximately 73,000 at its peak, organized in a militarized manner. The labor force consisted of young men and women mobilized from throughout Binh Tri Thien province.”
Each district organized itself into a division named after its locality: Tuyen Hoa, Quang Trach, Bo Trach, Dong Hoi, Le Ninh, Ben Hai, Dong Ha, Trieu Hai, Huong Dien, Phu Loc, Nam Dong, Hue City... For example, the Bo Trach Irrigation Division, which I commanded, consisted of 23 companies, approximately 1,500 people. The only tools available were rudimentary implements such as hoes, shovels, carrying poles, and sickles for tilling the soil; and hammers and chisels for breaking rocks.
Even the compaction was done with wooden or cast-iron tampers; each person had a small one, while two to four people worked together on larger ones. They spread thin layers of soil and then compacted it... layer after layer. The soil was compacted to the sound of the commander's whistle. The sound of the tampering echoed throughout the area.
During the three years from 1977 to 1980, the Nam Thach Han irrigation project was basically completed, bringing water to irrigate 9,000 hectares of rice in the winter-spring season and nearly 5,500 hectares in the summer-autumn season in Trieu Phong and Hai Lang districts, as well as a portion of Phong Dien district. The Nam Thach Han irrigation project was the result of the combined efforts of the people of the three provinces of Binh Tri Thien, further strengthening the solidarity and loyalty of Quang Binh and Quang Tri.
Ngo Thanh Long
Source: https://baoquangtri.vn/am-tinh-hai-que-quang-tri-quang-binh-194467.htm
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