When mentioning the place name Ham Rong, people not only remember a land with many cultural sediments, but also the event where the army and people of Ham Rong - Nam Ngan defeated the US air force, shaking the world in the early days of April 1965.
Sacred land
“The nine-peaked bird has crossed the river/ Why doesn’t the other one return?” or “Ninety-nine peaks to the east/ And the Nit mountain by the river hasn’t returned yet” are songs about the land located close to the southern bank of the Ma River with 99 mountains and hills shaped like a dragon winding from Vom village (Thieu Khanh) to the foot of Ham Rong bridge, to create a region of “strange mountains and beautiful waters”.
Many archaeological documents show that since the time of the Hung Kings who founded the Van Lang nation, Dong Son was an agricultural village that was formed, developed and had a position in the region. The discovery of the Dong Son ancient village relic dating back more than 2,500 years has opened a new chapter for the study of ancient Vietnamese civilization during the first founding of the nation. After the glorious period of Dong Son culture, throughout a thousand years of Chinese domination, Dong Son ancient village was still located in an important area of Cuu Chan land. Traces of residential areas and burial areas show the continuous development of this land during the period of Vietnamese - Han cultural exchange and subsequent stages of development... During the feudal period, Dong Son land was an important area marked by evidence of the activities of the Ly - Tran - Le - Tay Son dynasties. During the Nguyen Dynasty, the court even built a temple of literature in Dong Son village. On the "chronological" axis from the time of the Hung Kings who founded the nation to modern times, Dong Son culture and Dong Son village always have a special position. But, as the writer Tu Nguyen Tinh wrote: Ham Rong is a famous place, because of its beautiful mountains and rivers. It attracts many literati, famous scholars, and emperors to visit, to let go of their torments, to question life, to join the soul of the mountains and rivers. If that were all, Ham Rong would still be a beautiful place. But deep inside the land there are many secrets, historical figures, and sediments of an entire human civilization. And many stories are woven into the "acupuncture point" of Ham Rong. Ham Rong only truly becomes a symbol when it stands up with primitive weapons to fight back against the powerful air force of the United States..." (Ham Rong, symbol of Thanh Hoa people).
To the opening battle against the American destructive war
On that land, since the beginning of the 20th century, Ham Rong bridge has witnessed many ups and downs, losses and heroism of Dong Son people in particular, and Thanh Hoa army and people in general.
At the time of expanding the destructive war, the US military believed that: From Hanoi to the Ho Chi Minh trail, there were up to 60 bottlenecks and Ham Rong was an "ideal bottleneck", the junction of the "panhandle" area. Therefore, attacking Ham Rong would effectively prevent the North from supporting the South. From the White House, US President B. Johnson declared: "It is time for the US to destroy the will of Hanoi's silver heads and break the backbone of the Vietnamese Army by attacking the steel bridge named Ham Rong, 75 miles south of Hanoi." Therefore, the attack on Ham Rong was chosen by the White House and the Pentagon as the most important target in the first destructive war in the North.
With the plot to cut off North-South support, isolate Ham Rong and focus on completely attacking Ham Rong, at 8:45 a.m. on April 3, 1965, the first 16 US planes bombed Thanh Hoa territory with a series of bombing locations such as Do Len bridge (Ha Trung), Cun bridge (Nong Cong), Van Trai station (Tinh Gia, now Nghi Son town)...
In just 2 days, April 3 and 4, 1965, the US military used 174 groups and 454 planes; dropped on Thanh Hoa province of Thanh Hoa. In the Ham Rong - Nam Ngan - Yen Vuc area alone, the enemy swooped 85 times, dropped bombs 80 times, dropped 350 bombs, and fired 149 rockets. It can be affirmed that this was the first time since launching the air war of destruction in the North that the US imperialists organized a battle with the largest scale and the most fierce level, they wanted us to "return to the Stone Age".
However, the army and people of Nam Ngan - Ham Rong fought bravely against the brutal air raids of American planes, protecting Ham Rong bridge - the national traffic artery, ensuring support for the southern battlefield; with the slogan "All for the beloved South", "Determined to defeat the American invaders". In just 2 days of April 3 and 4, 1965, the army and people of our province shot down 47 American planes, capturing 2 pilots. Ham Rong alone, in 2 days, shot down 31 American planes, setting a record for destroying American planes in the sky of Northern Vietnam. In that fierce fire and smoke, there were many examples of steadfast and heroic fighting. That was the heroine Ngo Thi Tuyen who overcame bullets and bombs carrying 98kg of ammunition, twice her body weight, to supply the troops; Six girls from the Lo Cao ambulance team, Yen Vuc militia, and Hac Oa crossed enemy fire to the artillery batteries to bandage the wounded soldiers and supply ammunition to the anti-aircraft positions of Hill 75, C4, Quyet Thang, and Khong Ten. Hundreds of mothers and sisters in Dong Son village cooked rice and brought it to the battlefield for the soldiers... like a legendary story, causing a stir in American public opinion and admiration from friends who love justice and peace around the world.
Ham Rong became the terror of the US Air Force. Through two destructive wars of the US empire, the army and people of Ham Rong alone shot down 117 planes, destroyed and captured many American pilots, protected the bridge to ensure smooth traffic, boosted production, and contributed to the army and people of the whole country to bring the resistance war against the US to complete victory. At that time, Western news agencies commented on the story of the "American thunder god" being "poked" by the MIG-17 of North Vietnam and called April 4, 1965 "the dark day of the US Air Force". In addition, the world news agencies also gave phrases such as "an extraordinary myth", "Victory Monument", "The most beautiful bridge" to Ham Rong Bridge. Above all, after so many bombs and bullets, Ham Rong Bridge still stands tall on the Ma River.
And Dragon's Jaw shines
Those feats have made famous the heroic and indomitable tradition of Thanh Hoa people, becoming a symbol of the righteous power of Vietnam.
Over the years, Ham Rong Bridge and the two words "Quyết thắng" are solemnly carved into the mountainside as a shining symbol of patriotism and revolutionary heroism of the Vietnamese people. Remember, in 1901, the French started building Ham Rong Bridge and after 3 years (1904), a semicircular arch bridge like the most modern "swan" in Indochina, spanning the Ma River was completed. The second time was in 1962 - after the scorched earth resistance war, Ham Rong Bridge was rebuilt and in 1964 the "miraculous bridge" was inaugurated. The third time, Ham Rong Bridge, after 69 days and nights of construction, opened to traffic on May 19, 1973. Up to now, besides the historic Ham Rong Bridge, Hoang Long Bridge and Nguyet Vien Bridge have made important contributions to the process of building and developing the infrastructure of Thanh Hoa City.
The war has been over for 58 years, on the old bomb craters, trees and fruits have flourished. Ham Rong today has become a tourist highlight of Thanh Hoa province, along the Ma River there are many industrial parks, bustling urban areas, many roads have been expanded, the lives of the people change every day.
Ms. Le Thi Thanh, Deputy Secretary of the Party Committee, Chairman of the People's Committee of Ham Rong Ward, said: The Party Committee and People of Ham Rong Ward are making efforts to realize the goal of "Improving the leadership capacity of the Party Committee; promoting heroic traditions, exploiting the maximum potential and advantages, building a friendly tourism environment; striving to become a model ward by 2025" as set out in the Resolution of the Party Congress of the Ward for the 2020-2025 term.
In 2022, despite continuing to be severely affected by the COVID-19 pandemic, with the strong leadership and direction of the City Party Committee, People's Council, and People's Committee of Thanh Hoa City, along with the determination and efforts of the entire political system of Ham Rong Ward and the people in the area, the socio-economic situation is basically stable. Out of 23 targets, the ward has exceeded 3 targets, 18 targets reached 100%. Of which, the value of trade, services, and tourism reached 361.9 billion VND, an increase of 11.8% over the same period in 2021; small-scale industrial production reached 306.2 billion VND, an increase of 11.5% over the same period; agricultural production reached 15.9 billion VND, an increase of 11.2% over the same period. Notably, in the first 3 months of 2023, the ward exceeded most of the set targets.
“As a Thanh Hoa person, everyone must remember Ham Rong, not just me. Ham Rong is in the hearts of tens of millions of people” (Nostalgia for Ham Rong - Kieu Vuong). That reminds us of the heroic history of the nation and is also the motivation for us to join hands to build a modern and civilized Thanh Hoa city.
KIEU HUYEN
The article uses materials in the books "Thanh Hoa City past and present" (Thanh Hoa Publishing House, 2010), "Ham Rong - symbol of Thanh Hoa people", Tu Nguyen Tinh, Thanh Hoa Publishing House, 2021).
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