Comrade Nguyen Van Loi, Head of the Ho Chi Minh City National Assembly Delegation, presented flowers to pay tribute to Hero of the Armed Forces Doan Van Thai (standing in the middle) and Hero of the Armed Forces Ngo Tung Chinh (right).
Memories of a soldier from the past
I have heard a lot about him, but today I had the opportunity to talk with Hero of the People's Armed Forces Doan Van Thai. Born in 1947 in a poor family in Long Nguyen, Ben Cat, Thu Dau Mot, he was enlightened about the revolution early, at the age of 16, Mr. Thai joined the local militia and a year later joined the army.
During the years of resistance against American imperialism, Mr. Doan Van Thai was awarded the title of American Destroyer four times and received the Third Class Liberation Feat Medal twice. Notably, in 1969, at the Southern Armed Forces Congress, he was honored as a Hero of the People's Armed Forces at the age of 22, the youngest Hero at that time.
Mr. Thai remembers every battle clearly, and the most typical one is the Mau Than campaign in 1968. During that time, there was a battle in Saigon, being separated by the enemy and surrounded in Thu Duc for 16 days and nights. His entire 30-man Company 3 had to face commandos, raids, and sniper helicopters. The soldiers bravely broke the siege. That time, he escaped death and was promoted to Deputy Company Commander. “After that time, I told my teammates that if I didn’t die this time, Doan Van Thai would never sacrifice himself on the battlefield. Then, in the battle against Cua Paris fort in November 1968, Company 3 suffered consecutive defeats, so I took responsibility for both attacking the fort and rescuing my teammates.” After that, Mr. Thai was appointed as Company Commander of Company 3.
While enthusiastically talking about the battles, the old soldier suddenly became pensive, choked up, his eyes red. “There were battles where dozens of people went to battle, but only a few returned, and everyone was wounded. Those who were seriously wounded were treated, recovered, and then joined the fight. Those who were lightly wounded continued fighting, and eventually it healed itself. When participating in the resistance, everyone determined beforehand that they would sacrifice, but if they sacrificed, they had to sacrifice worthily.
Witnessing our comrades sacrifice right before our eyes, but at that time the goal was to gain independence and freedom for our homeland, so our spirit was not shaken... Still alive today, I miss my comrades who could not witness the day of peace for the country", Mr. Thai was moved.
After 1975, Mr. Thai continued to participate in protecting the Southwestern border and later he held the position of Commander of the Song Be Border Guard, actively contributing to the cause of protecting the Fatherland's border.
He said that the proudest thing was to become a soldier of the armed forces, and to maintain the qualities and loyalty of a revolutionary throughout his life. Now, in his old age, the soldier still strives to become a typical citizen in the locality, strictly following the policies and laws of the Party and State, and always educating his children and grandchildren to preserve the traditions of the nation and homeland.
Sharing the same thought, People's Armed Forces Hero Ngo Tung Chinh (born in 1953) shared: "Missing our comrades, even though we are wounded soldiers, we promise to always strive to study and train, and as long as we have the strength, we will continue to work and contribute."
Hero Ngo Tung Chinh joined the revolution at the age of 12 as an inner-city liaison. In 1967, he transferred to the City Youth Union's special forces. From 1967 to 1969, Mr. Chinh received and transported 20 batches of weapons, directly fought in 8 battles, participated with his teammates in 4 battles, and killed hundreds of enemies. In 1969, he was arrested and detained in Chi Hoa. "At that time, I was still a child, so I was later locked up in a children's prison. After the Paris Agreement in 1973, we fought and forced them to disband the prison that same year," said Mr. Chinh.
Inspiring today's young generation
Hero Ngo Tung Chinh shared: “In our time, during the resistance years, we only needed courage, patriotism, and hatred for the enemy to be able to fight and defeat the enemy. But today's young people are different, they must study culture, politics, and majors well to have the mindset, grasp modern science and technology to contribute to the cause of building and defending the Fatherland”. In addition to improving professional qualifications, he also reminded the younger generation to know about the country's history to have national pride and self-respect, foster love for the homeland, and create a solid foundation for themselves in life.
Hero Doan Van Thai also reminded young people to deeply understand the value of peace, especially in the context of the complicated world situation.
“Today’s young generation has many conditions to develop in all aspects. The future of the country is in your hands. You need to constantly learn, practice, improve your knowledge, skills and patriotism to preserve the achievements that previous generations sacrificed to achieve, and at the same time actively contribute to the development of the country,” Mr. Thai emphasized.
Having participated in the resistance war and been exposed to toxic chemicals, Mr. Ma Thanh Son said that he was still luckier than many of his fallen comrades. He himself always told himself that every peaceful moment today is the crystallization of millions of patriotic hearts.
As a young man of the city named after Uncle Ho, Phan Nguyen Cat Tuong (student of Cu Chi High School) expressed his deep gratitude to the predecessors who did not spare their blood and bones, were ready to fight and sacrifice. “Each of us young people today is always grateful and very aware of pride, responsibility, self-reflection and also reminding ourselves to constantly study, improve skills, live with ideals and aspirations, live in a way that is worthy of our fathers and brothers, with the stature of the country that is striving to integrate and develop. Every good deed today is the most practical gratitude to those who fell yesterday,” Phan Nguyen Cat Tuong shared.
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Source: https://baolaocai.vn/biet-on-va-y-thuc-ro-niem-tu-hao-post649685.html
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