August Story in La Gi

Although 80 years have passed, in the memory of the people in the southern coastal area of ​​Binh Thuan province, a historical event that left an impression on the revolutionary spirit of the August Revolution in 1945 at that time is still unforgettable.

A corner of La Gi. Photo: Ngoc Lan

The site Doi Duong (now in La Gi ward, Lam Dong province) has become a part of the local revolutionary history and a miracle because this is a forest of casuarina trees (poplar trees)... This poplar forest stretches 7 km to Tam Tan, which is now the most poetic and beautiful stretch of coastline in the area, attracting many resort tourism projects.

During the August Revolution of 1945, this place became a rather special historical mark in a very unstable context. When hearing the news on August 24, 1945, under the movement of the provisional Viet Minh, the neighboring areas of Phan Thiet town rose up and surrounded the Binh Thuan provincial road, forcing the provincial governor Huynh Du to quickly hand over the government to the revolutionary forces. Meanwhile, in Ham Tan district (including the two communes of Phong Dien and Phuoc Thang), with the core being the Youth Frontline force (also known as Phan Anh Frontline), a young, progressive group that recognized the situation sent people to the province to receive guidance. There was also a lot of tension between the two trends about forming a delegation to Phan Thiet to meet the province, including the group of District Chief Ho Dinh Lan, even though they knew the situation had changed. But in the end, it was agreed to send the Youth Group without any connections to government officials to Mr. Do Don Tho (General Director) and Mr. Do Don Tri, Le Kim Khoi... to quickly leave on the only bus on the morning of August 26. But it was not until the morning of August 28 that they met the provincial Viet Minh leaders, and directly the Chairman of the Provincial Provisional Revolutionary Committee, Nguyen Nhon, issued a letter of authorization for Mr. Do Don Tho to represent the group to organize the seizure of power in Ham Tan. On the way back via intersection 30 through Phong Dien, they heard that in La Gi, there was a siege of the Western paratroopers at Doi Duong Tan Ly beach, next to Tan Long fishing village.

Monument to the capture of Western soldiers parachuting

It was around 5pm on August 28, 1945, and the people were surprised to discover in the sky over the sea an airplane that had circled around the island several times and then dropped 13 parachutes onto the shore. For the villagers, it was the first time they saw this strange phenomenon, but thinking about the war situation going on outside the province, they knew that this was a French plane with some intention. The more knowledgeable people confirmed that this was an action by the French, although they knew they had been kicked out, there was still a group plotting to infiltrate and parachute into this strategic area, so they shouted the alarm widely and quickly formed many groups with knives, spears, sticks, etc. as weapons and ran towards the shore. The paratroopers also quickly collected their parachutes and hid deep into the dense pine forest. The strangest thing ever, the young fishermen left their boats at the dock with the people at La Gi market to wade across the Dinh River and voluntarily mobilized rice, sticky rice to cook, wrap banh tet... to supply the pursuing force, following the footprints of the enemy who was still hiding. The next morning, the battle ended when the pursuing force discovered and captured the last Vietnamese traitor hiding in a house at the end of the fishing village. The entire paratrooper group was defeated with 1 Frenchman wounded by our shots, 3 other Frenchmen and 2 Vietnamese traitors captured alive. Regarding weapons, 7 guns, radios and many military equipment were captured... and taken to the house of Thuong Chanh to guard and use "steel wire" (morse), reporting the incident to the province. Just then, the Youth Union from the province returned to discuss the work of organizing the uprising and then the province also strengthened the direction, then transferred the enemy and the captured spoils of war to Phan Thiet.

In the new atmosphere, while consolidating the key forces on the spot, many young people had awareness through grasping information about the mass movement in the province and some former Tam Tan Communist Party members had quickly mastered the situation... At the same time, receiving the direction of the provincial Viet Minh on the personnel leadership of the district's provisional revolutionary people's committee and organizing the independence celebration on September 2 at La Gi football field, which took place in a jubilant atmosphere. A rather unique initiative on the referendum of the people attending the rally, on the election method, the Organizing Committee introduced candidates for a certain position, then whoever agreed ran to the corner of the field. The initial results were very clear through the "number of votes" based on the number of positions in each corner of the football field and that candidate. Thus, at first the district provisional committee only had: Chairman Phan Thanh Ba, Vice Chairman Do Don Tho, Secretary General Tran Cong Hoanh, Military Commissioner Pham Phu Dam... But later with the participation of the province, this composition was consolidated to meet the next task. After the rally, Ham Tan District Chief Ho Dinh Lan also returned from the province and quickly complied and handed over all books and seals to the revolutionary government.

Looking back, with a dramatic "bare-handed capture of the enemy" battle, it opened the way for an uprising to seize local power, contributing to the success of the August Revolution in Binh Thuan.

Source: https://baolamdong.vn/cau-chuyen-thang-tam-o-la-gi-388952.html