Lesson 2: "When the enemy comes to the house, even women will fight"

For example, in Bao Yen district, which has the largest number of civilian laborers serving on the front lines in the province (34 people), 27 of them are women. Second is Van Ban district, where 32 people who served as civilian laborers during the Dien Bien Phu Campaign are still living, with 28 of them being women.

After Lao Cai province was completely liberated from French colonial rule (November 1, 1950), during the period 1950-1954, alongside the task of suppressing bandits, the people of Lao Cai's ethnic groups made strenuous efforts to contribute manpower and resources to the Northwest Campaign (October 1952) and the 1953-1954 Winter-Spring Campaign, culminating in the Dien Bien Phu Victory. During those years, with the spirit of "when the enemy comes to our house, even women will fight," many young women in Lao Cai, aged eighteen to twenty, from villages and hamlets eagerly volunteered to carry rice, transport food and weapons to the battlefield. The stories of the will and patriotism of these female civilian laborers in the past filled us with immense admiration.

From afar, Duong Quy commune presents a peaceful beauty with the stilt houses of the Tay ethnic minority nestled against the high mountains, and in front lies a lush green rice field in its prime. Duong Quy is not only a land rich in cultural identity but also rich in revolutionary traditions, associated with the victories of our soldiers in the long resistance war against the French. In that place, countless people wholeheartedly followed the revolution, heeding the call of the Party and the appeal of President Ho Chi Minh to join the resistance and liberate their homeland.

Now 92 years old, although her back is hunched and her eyesight is no longer as sharp as it once was, Mrs. Hoang Thi Thong, a Tay ethnic woman from Na Co village, is still healthy and able to help her children and grandchildren with small chores around the house. Remarkably, at her advanced age, Mrs. Thong still cherishes memories of her youth, more than 70 years ago, when she served as a liaison officer and later participated in the civilian labor force, carrying rice to feed the soldiers fighting against the French colonialists in the Dien Bien Phu battlefield.

Sitting by the window of his stilt house, gazing towards the majestic Gia Lan mountain range, perpetually shrouded in clouds, Mr. Thong recalled: “Before 1950, the French colonialists ruled Duong Quy and built very strong fortifications. Under the yoke of colonial and feudal rule, the lives of the people were extremely difficult. Hating the cruel invaders who inflicted suffering on my homeland, at the age of 16 or 17, I joined the army as a liaison, secretly transporting documents and letters to cadres and soldiers in the area. I carefully concealed the documents on my person to avoid detection, choosing to travel through the forest, crossing mountains to the areas of Nam Mien, Nam Khap, Long Vang, Dan Lam… Sometimes, after delivering documents to the soldiers and returning home at midnight, I would receive another assignment. I did this for three years straight, without losing or misplacing a single letter or document.”

On November 16, 1950, our troops won the victory at Duong Quy outpost, completely liberating Van Ban district, and the villages erupted in joy. However, the French still occupied many places, and the resistance war against the French entered an increasingly fierce phase. Later, Hoang Thi Thong, the prettiest female liaison officer in the village, volunteered to carry rice to supply the soldiers fighting on the battlefield.

“From the food warehouse in Ban Noong area, Khanh Yen Thuong commune, each person carried 20-30 kg of rice along the forest path to Than Uyen. Having worked as a liaison officer and often traveled through the mountains and forests, I was familiar with the terrain, so the soldiers chose me to carry the rice and guide the entire group of civilian laborers. To avoid detection by enemy aircraft, the group mainly traveled at night. The most difficult part was crossing the treacherous Khau Co pass, with the forest full of leeches and mosquitoes. Once, while carrying rice to Than Uyen, I fell ill and had a fever for a whole week. Thanks to the soldiers and the villagers' care, as soon as I recovered, I continued to join the group carrying rice to serve our troops fighting the French.” Mr. Thong smiled, his eyes crinkling at the corners, his black teeth biting into his betel-stained lips, his eyes welling up with pride as he reminisced about his youth.

Also in Na Co village, we met Mrs. La Thi Huong, who more than 70 years ago also participated in the civilian labor force carrying rice to feed the troops on the front lines. It was heartwarming to see that Mrs. Huong, now 93 years old, with a hunched back, still spoke in a voice as clear as the Chan stream. When we asked her about her memories of carrying rice for the soldiers, Mrs. Huong's eyes welled up with tears: "Back then, no one forced me to go, but I felt sorry for the soldiers fighting the enemy, sleeping in the mountains and forests, lacking food and drink, so I volunteered to carry rice to the battlefield. Even when I was still at home, I sometimes met soldiers passing by, and I would take a bamboo tube to give them rice to eat while they were marching. When we carried rice, we divided ourselves into groups of five to avoid getting lost. Although we mostly carried rice at night, we still used forest leaves to cover our hats and jackets so that enemy planes wouldn't spot us…"

Continuing on to Chom village, Yen Son commune, Bao Yen district, we met Mrs. Luong Thi Nhot, an 89-year-old Tay ethnic woman who participated in the civilian labor force for over three months during the Dien Bien Phu Campaign. During the Dien Bien Phu Campaign, Mrs. Nhot carried military supplies from Lao Cai to Sa Pa, then to Binh Lu intersection (Tam Duong district), Than Uyen district, Lai Chau province, and delivered the rice to the warehouse there. Mrs. Nhot recounted that carrying rice was arduous and difficult, but everyone felt happy because the entire village and all the women joined together.



While collecting historical documents about the civilian labor brigades that served on the Dien Bien Phu battlefield, we visited Nghia Do commune in Bao Yen district. More than 70 years ago, the communes along the Nam Luong stream—Nghia Do, Vinh Yen, and Tan Tien—were not separated as they are now, but were collectively called Nghia Do. What is special about this area is that the civilian labor force was mainly composed of young Tay ethnic women. Today, most of those who participated in the civilian labor force are no longer alive; the few who remain are all over 90 years old.

In the stories of those days as civilian laborers carrying rice to feed the troops, we were not only moved by the hardships and difficulties they endured, but also admired the willpower and optimistic spirit of a generation of young people ready to sacrifice their youth for national liberation. But it was also amidst the bombs, the fire, and the ever-present dangers that happiness blossomed, and love was ignited, as beautiful as the wild bauhinia flowers.

In conversation with us, Mrs. Hoang Thi Tien, 91 years old, residing in Khuoi Phuong village, Vinh Yen commune, was too frail to share many memories due to her age. However, her husband, Mr. Hoang Van Ran, 94 years old, remains lucid and remembers many of those years clearly. Mr. Ran recounted that after 1952, he participated in two rice-carrying missions to feed the troops, each carrying 20kg of rice for over a week from Bao Ha, traversing forests and mountains to reach the assembly point in the Muong Lo area (now Nghia Lo town, Yen Bai province). Although Mrs. Tien lived in the same village, they only knew each other by sight. Through those nighttime rice-carrying trips through the forest, they gradually became close. The strong and robust young man from the village, Hoang Van Ran, fell deeply in love with the beautiful civilian worker, Hoang Thi Tien. Amidst the bombings of 1953, they held a simple but warm wedding ceremony.

Upon arriving in Bản Rịa, Nghĩa Đô commune, we were deeply moved by the story of Mrs. Nguyễn Thị Quỳnh, 92 years old. At the age of 18, young Nguyễn Thị Quỳnh volunteered to carry rice as a civilian laborer to the Thìu village area in Lục Yên district. She mainly carried rice at night; on moonless nights, she used lamps, and upon hearing the sound of distant enemy planes, she had to immediately turn off the lamps to maintain secrecy. During those difficult times, Nguyễn Thị Quỳnh and a Tày man named Ma Văn Than fell in love. After their wedding, they were separated for only a few months. One continued her civilian labor on the front lines, while the other volunteered to join the army to fight the French, suppress bandits, and then the invading American forces. Faithfully waiting for her husband, Mr. Than returned eight years later, bringing joy and happiness to their reunion. No amount of enemy bombs and bullets could sever their love.

The love stories during wartime between Mrs. Hoang Thi Tien and Mr. Hoang Van Ran, and Mrs. Nguyen Thi Quynh and Mr. Ma Van Than, remind me of the pure and beautiful love, like the moonlight in the vast forest, between the beautiful young volunteer named Nguyet and the truck driver named Lam in Nguyen Minh Chau's novel "The Last Crescent Moon in the Forest." These real-life love stories, not just novels, further inspire our admiration for the willpower, resilience, and optimism of a generation of young people willing to sacrifice their youth and personal happiness for the Fatherland.

On our journey to meet the young women who participated in the civilian labor force serving the Dien Bien Phu Campaign more than 70 years ago, we not only heard many touching stories from them, but also gained a deeper understanding of the proud history and changes in the revolutionary villages of the past. Amidst the sunshine of those historic May days, Mrs. Nguyen Thi Quynh from Nghia Do commune smiled and told us that the last of the female civilian laborers had finally returned to the earth, and she felt proud and joyful that the country was at peace, her homeland was modernized, and everyone was prosperous and happy.

Distinguished artisan Ma Thanh Soi from Ria village, Nghia Do commune, who has dedicated her life to researching, collecting, and preserving the cultural values ​​and identity of her ethnic group, and who is also knowledgeable about the history of this "gateway" region of the province, shared: "More than 70 years ago, many young people of the Tay, Mong, and Dao ethnic groups here volunteered to go to war to save the country, participating in the civilian labor force carrying rice to feed the troops and opening roads for the army to advance. Those in the rear increased production to contribute rice and corn to the army fighting the enemy. The next generation of those female civilian laborers from the past have either joined the army or become cadres and Party members, all setting a good example and uniting to build their homeland."

Having the opportunity to visit this region amidst the nationwide celebrations commemorating the 70th anniversary of the Dien Bien Phu Victory, I felt proud to hear Mr. Ly Van Noi, Chairman of the People's Committee of Nghia Do Commune, inform me that the ethnic minorities along the Nam Luong River are not only brave and resilient in the revolutionary struggle, but also dynamic and creative in labor and rural development. In 2023, the Nghia Do commune homestay cluster was honored to be one of two homestay tourism destinations in Vietnam to win the "ASEAN Homestay" award. Along the Nam Luong River, Tan Tien commune in Vinh Yen has also seen strong development in its forest economy, becoming the largest cinnamon growing area in Bao Yen district, contributing to the increasingly prosperous lives of its people.

Not only in the land along the Nam Luong River in Bao Yen district, but in recent years, people of various ethnic groups in revolutionary rural areas and throughout the communes, villages, and hamlets of the province have continued to uphold the tradition of revolutionary struggle, actively building a new life and making their homeland more prosperous and beautiful.

Watch for Part 3: Untold Stories on Khau Co Pass

Source: https://baolaocai.vn/bai-2-giac-den-nha-dan-ba-cung-danh-post383148.html