Three martyr sons and Vietnamese heroic mother

We were truly moved when listening to Mr. Pham Van Doan talk about his family of 3 martyrs and the heroic Vietnamese mother. His hands trembled as he flipped through the papers, letters sent by the martyrs from the battlefield and the remaining traces of his relatives, while remembering his parents who raised their children and grandchildren to be the foundation for them to rise up in life.

Representatives of local authorities and children congratulate Vietnamese Heroic Mother Vu Thi Con on the occasion of Lunar New Year 1995.

His father, Pham Phuc Dang (1903-1946), was born into a well - off family with a Confucian tradition in Giang hamlet (Giai Le village, Le Xa commune, Tien Lu district, Hung Yen province). He was able to study Han Nom from a young age, then Quoc Ngu and French. Thanks to his basic cultural knowledge and the family tradition, he opened a Quoc Ngu class at home in the 1930s. At first, he taught his eldest son, Pham Van Dang, then his brothers and grandchildren: Pham Van Bat, Pham Van Bach, Nguyen Ba Phu, Bui Dinh Hoa, Vu Phuc Khoi... and some children and siblings of friends in neighboring villages.

In 1946, when the number of students had increased and they were hoping for their eldest son to be intelligent and studious, Mr. Pham Phuc Dang became seriously ill and died, leaving behind his young wife, Vu Thi Con (1908 - 2003), who was only 38 years old, with 7 children, most of whom were not yet adults or newborns: Pham Thi Con, Pham Van Dang, Pham Van Doan, Pham Van Dan, Pham Thi Tinh, Pham Van Doan, Pham Van Bang. During the resistance war against the French (1945-1954), Giai Le village and the entire commune refused to establish a militia, build a resistance village, and became a base for the agencies of the Tien Lu District Party Committee, Phu Cu District Party Committee, Regiment 42, Song Luoc Company, etc., so the epidemic surrounded, swept, and bombed the village and made it impossible to grow rice. During the day, the people stayed in the basements, and at night they went to work in the fields to have enough rice to eat and pay taxes to support the army. Keeping the family tradition, remembering her husband's advice and working hard, the mother was still able to keep the fields, have enough food and clothes, send her children to school and study well.

Letter Pham Van Doan wrote to his mother at the end of 1967.

The eldest son, Pham Van Dang, was born in 1931. His father taught him the national language, then he studied at Canh Hoach Primary School and in 1943, he married Nguyen Thi Diet, the same village. When he was only 17 years old, in 1948, he volunteered to join the Luoc River Company (Tien Lu District Army). Because of his cultural background, he was sent to study nursing, then became a nurse of the Luoc River Company. During a march with his unit, he was ambushed and shot dead by the French on April 12, 1952, at the entrance of Suoi village (Thuy Loi commune, Tien Lu district, Hung Yen province), leaving behind a young wife who had no children. Upon hearing the news of her son's death, the mother was stunned, suppressed her pain and brought the body back to the village for burial, encouraging her daughter-in-law to remarry to find lasting happiness.

In 1960, his mother married her son, Pham Van Doan, born in 1935, to Vu Thi Mua, from the same village. In early 1963, Pham Van Doan joined the army and joined the 82nd Artillery Regiment stationed in Ban Yen Nhan, Hung Yen province. At that time, the unit was recruiting officers and soldiers to volunteer to go to the battlefield to become the core of the three-armed artillery troops of the localities, and Pham Van Doan was among them. He and a number of officers and soldiers marched to Hoa Binh province to train and improve their physical strength for long-distance marches carrying heavy loads, combined with eating and drinking to improve their health. After that, he was allowed to go home on leave to visit his mother, say goodbye to his young wife, and return on leave on time to march to the B2 battlefield - Southern Vietnam in early 1964. During the years of fighting, he wrote many letters to his mother and wife.

This is one of the letters Pham Van Doan wrote to his mother at the end of 1967: A homemade envelope made of checkered student paper, addressed Pham Van Doan/Letter to the North/Respectfully sent to Pham Thi Dang, Giai Le village, Tay Ho commune, Tien Lu district, Hung Yen province. Content: “Dear mother, it has been more than 3 years since I left you and my family to go to the South, having overcome many difficulties and dangers, filled with longing in my heart, many thoughts and hesitations about my family, my mother is getting older at home, my younger siblings are working, I am only afraid: Mother is old, her shadow is leaning on the mulberry branches/Afraid of dizziness and headaches, who to rely on. When the family is in trouble, who will help mother and most worried, mother at home is always worried about me, not knowing if anything is going to happen. I know that you must think a lot about me here, especially in the letters my younger siblings sent me, they all said the same thing. But don't think about me, at home there is you and my family, when I left, my comrades in the unit helped each other, helped each other wholeheartedly, mother. When the weather was bad, my brothers visited and encouraged each other, gave each other a bowl of rice, a bowl of water, sometimes even washed clothes. I feel that here, we treat each other as blood brothers… And since I left until now, my health is still normal, my work is good, and my food and drink are generally adequate. However, I hope that you do not think about me too much, it will affect your health. In here, I am careful and extremely careful about my work to do exactly as you told me… When I completed my mission and returned, the children were all grown up and clung to me, asking questions, it was so much fun. Mom, at that time the country was at peace, the family was reunited, it was so much joy that it was beyond words, the children were playing happily in school, there was no more death threat. Time is limited, so I will temporarily stop writing. Your child, Pham Doan". (The letter is quoted in its entirety and sent with the attached text, the first part of the letter stating the time and place of sending was cut off by the censorship unit to keep it secret)

Pham Van Doan died on November 4, 1969, and was buried by his unit at the Southern Front. On the day Le Xa commune came to report his death and hold a memorial service, his mother missed him so much that she hugged her childless daughter-in-law and cried silently, then calmed down and encouraged her daughter-in-law to find new happiness soon and for her children to do their own work and strive to improve themselves in life.

In December 1970, while studying in the third year of the Faculty of Geodesy, University of Mining and Geology, student Pham Van Bang enlisted in the Tank - Armored Corps. After completing training, the unit marched quickly to participate in the Route 9 - Southern Laos Campaign (January 30 - March 23, 1971) and student Pham Van Bang sacrificed himself on March 15, 1971. After that, the unit sent a death notice to the locality. At the memorial service for martyr Pham Van Bang, his mother seemed to collapse: "Three times seeing him off/Twice crying silently/The brothers did not return/I was alone in silence" (Excerpt from the poem "My Country" by Ta Huu Yen, composed into the song "Country" by musician Pham Minh Tuan). No! Missing her children, mother was only sick and bedridden for a few days, then gradually got up, suppressed her pain and went to work with the members of the agricultural cooperative, picked mulberries to raise silkworms, took care of the education and marriage of her remaining children.

Certificate of National Merit from the family of martyr Pham Van Dang.

Two sons, Pham Van Dan and Pham Van Doan, graduated from Hung Yen Provincial Pedagogical College. Mr. Pham Van Dan (1937-2014) was the Principal for many years with his wife Vu Thi Lan, a teacher at Dinh Cao Commune Secondary School (Phu Cu District, Hung Yen Province). He raised 6 daughters and sons in the 1980s and 1990s, all of whom passed and graduated from universities: Hanoi Pedagogical University 1, Hanoi Polytechnic University, Mining and Geology University, and Construction University. And then, one by one, she had 13 grandchildren who graduated from university, 10 grandchildren who taught... Granddaughter Pham Thi Tuyet (daughter of Mr. Pham Van Doan), born in 1972, after being weaned, lived with her until she started teaching and got married and felt: "She is a strong woman, devoted to her children and grandchildren, taking care of their food and education from childhood to adulthood. Every year, on the anniversary of the martyrs' deaths, she cried a lot at night, went to work normally during the day, did not complain, accepted the sacrifice for the country's independence; at the same time learned how to treat people, including encouraging her two daughters-in-law who soon found happiness and enjoyed the policy of remarriage of martyrs' wives".

For their contributions to the cause of national liberation, on January 21, 1974, the State awarded the Second Class Resistance Medal and on December 22, 1986, the Third Class Independence Medal to Mr. Pham Van Dang and Mrs. Vu Thi Con. On December 1, 1994, the State awarded the title “Heroic Vietnamese Mother” to Vu Thi Con’s mother because she had 3 children who were martyrs.

Source: https://hanoimoi.vn/ba-con-trai-liet-si-va-ba-me-viet-nam-anh-hung-709992.html