Hero Chu Van Mui - intact heroic memories of the Dien Bien Phu Campaign

Students of Thuong Lan Secondary School, Viet Yen District visited and listened to Hero Chu Van Mui tell stories. (Photo: Danh Lam/VNA)

The Dien Bien Phu victory "resounded throughout the five continents and shook the world" 70 years ago, but in the mind of Mr. Chu Van Mui, the Hero of the People's Armed Forces, the memory of a time of hardship and heroism of the Vietnamese people is still intact.

One day at the end of April, in a spacious house located right on the street in Ha Thuong village, Thuong Lan commune, Viet Yen town, Bac Giang province, Mr. Chu Van Mui is now 98 years old, his health has greatly weakened, sometimes he can't hear clearly, but when talking about the Dien Bien Phu Campaign in 1954, his eyes light up. Memories, the battle in the heart of Muong Thanh returned to the mind of the Dien Bien soldier of the past.

Chu Van Mui was born in 1926 into a farming family. On July 3, 1949, at the age of 23, he followed the call of the Fatherland and joined the army. He was then assigned to Battalion 38, Regiment 102, Division 308 - the first main division of the Vietnam People's Army.

Before participating in the Dien Bien Phu Campaign, he participated in many major campaigns of our Army such as the Border Campaign, the Hoang Hoa Tham Campaign, the Hoa Binh Campaign... In each campaign, he held many different positions, from a soldier feeding troops, an assault soldier, an artilleryman, a mortar squad leader to a communications squad leader... In any position, he excellently completed the assigned tasks.

In 1952, Chu Van Mui was sent to a radio training class. From there, he transferred to the radio unit of the 88th Regiment, 308th Division. In 1954, the Dien Bien Phu Campaign broke out. Chu Van Mui was a radio soldier, under the General Staff, assigned to the task of connecting communications between the regimental commander and the division commander.

Mr. Chu Van Mui could never forget the battle on Hill A1. He recalled that at that time, our army encountered very strong enemy fire, suffered many casualties; telephone and radio communication from the company commander to the battalion, regiment, and division were lost. Mr. Chu Van Mui and his team were ordered to reconnect the communication line at Hill A1, because the presence of radio at that time was extremely important, without communication, our army could not win.

Hero Chu Van Mui with his memoirs. (Photo: Danh Lam/VNA)

With his courage and bravery, he and his comrades called to request our artillery to provide support so that he could advance to the center of the battlefield. When he arrived, Mr. Chu Van Mui was in charge of communication between the regimental commander and the division commander, while fighting to protect his wounded comrades and using the radio to direct our artillery to destroy the enemy. Thanks to that, our army repelled all the enemy's attacks.

Mr. Mui said that because he had to communicate continuously, the radio he used was almost out of battery, making the information inaccurate. Quickly, he found a way to approach a parachute that the enemy had supplied the night before, risked his life to crawl out of the bunker and pull it in. Luckily, the parachute contained a battery box that could be used for his radio.

When the batteries were replaced, the radio waves became stronger, and all the units' machines were able to contact the signal from Hill A1. However, the weak signal suddenly became stronger, causing the comrades in the unit to suspect that it was an enemy machine. The commander ordered all machines to temporarily stop and not contact Mr. Chu Van Mui's machine.

Finally, after many checks using signals, codes, and professional information, the division commander trusted and continued to command comrade Mui to continue fighting.

Another memory he could not forget was when the battle was fierce, on April 4, 1954, he received orders to find Regiment Commander Nguyen Hung Sinh, he quickly put a radio weighing more than 20kg on his shoulder but could not stand up, because he had not eaten or drunk for a day and a night.

With all his strength, he put on the radio and went to find the regimental commander. When he found the regimental commander, thanks to this radio, the communication line from the regimental commander to the division was reconnected on Hill A1. Although he was wounded, Regiment Commander Nguyen Hung Sinh both commanded and directly fought, repelling an enemy counterattack, restoring our position.

Students of Thuong Lan Secondary School, Viet Yen District, listen to Hero Chu Van Mui tell a story. (Photo: Danh Lam/VNA)

Mr. Chu Van Mui will never forget that sacred moment, when he reported "Hung Sinh is still alive, Hung Sinh is injured"..., on the other end of the line a very loud voice rang out "Cheers to comrade Chu Van Mui, awarding the First Class Military Exploit Medal to Chu Van Mui."

Later, upon learning of Chu Van Mui's fighting spirit, General Vo Nguyen Giap decided to officially recognize him as a party member 5 months ahead of schedule and awarded him the First Class Military Exploit Medal. On August 31, 1955, he was awarded the title of Hero of the People's Armed Forces.

In 1972, Mr. Mui was sent to study and then returned to work as an officer in charge of the 18th Information Battalion, participating in the Route 9 Khe Sanh, Dong Ha, Quang Tri campaigns. During the Ho Chi Minh Campaign, he was assigned as the Commander of the 140th Regiment, after which he continued to work in the army. In 1980, at the request of the I Corps, Mr. Chu Van Mui was transferred to work as Principal of the Corps Cultural School and in 1986 he retired.

Retired from the Army, he entered the "battle" on a new front, as the Chairman of Son Ha Cooperative. Hero Chu Van Mui said that after retiring, a few days later the village Party Secretary came to ask him to be the Chairman of the Cooperative. After the meeting, he was elected by the people as the Chairman of the Cooperative. He considered this a responsibility, because he had been away for many years and had not contributed anything to his own village. After 37 years of wandering around battlefields from North to South, returning to live in the warm affection of the village, he was filled with joy.

At that time, his hometown was still facing many difficulties, with a lack of electricity, roads, schools, and stations. As the Chairman of the Cooperative, Mr. Mui and other members helped people bring electricity to the village, build schools, pumping stations, bridges, and roads. At the same time, he and the Cooperative Board of Directors encouraged people to introduce new varieties of rice and corn into production to increase productivity and income. Thanks to that, people's lives have improved, and the number of poor households in the village has gradually decreased.

Not only did he excellently complete all assigned tasks in all positions, in his daily life, Hero Chu Van Mui was an exemplary husband, father, and grandfather. Up to now, his family has 3 children who all have a happy and prosperous life, and 10 grandchildren who are all obedient and studious./.

(Vietnam+)

Source: https://www.vietnamplus.vn/anh-hung-chu-van-mui-ven-nguyen-ky-uc-hao-hung-cua-chien-dich-dien-bien-phu-post943678.vnp

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