Which soldier used his body to block the artillery shell in the Dien Bien Phu Campaign?

The person mentioned is People's Armed Forces Hero To Vinh Dien, born in 1924, from Nong Truong commune, Nong Cong district (now Trieu Son district), Thanh Hoa province.

Because his family was poor and life was difficult, from the age of 8, To Vinh Dien had to work as a servant, growing up to become a tenant farmer for a landlord in a neighboring village. When France opened fire to reoccupy Indochina in 1946, he joined the revolution and gradually became a local militia commander.

In 1950, a riot broke out in Thanh Hoa, and To Vinh Dien was captured by the rebels. He was later rescued and officially enlisted in the Vietnam People's Army.

Hero To Vinh Dien. (Photo archive)

During the resistance war against France, he was trusted by his superiors to go to Nanning, Guangxi Province (China) for training. After that, he was appointed as Deputy Platoon Commander of Company 829, Battalion 394, Regiment 367.

During the Dien Bien Phu Campaign, To Vinh Dien was the anti-aircraft artillery squad leader. Throughout the march, he was always eager to take on all the heavy work, encouraging his teammates to bring the artillery to the assembly point safely.

When pulling artillery through difficult and arduous routes, To Vinh Dien always volunteered to drive the artillery. Along the march and during breaks, he reminded and proactively checked each artillery piece and road carefully to avoid unexpected dangers.

After the 105mm and 37mm cannons were pulled in to occupy the battlefield and wait for the opportunity to fire, to ensure the Dien Bien Phu campaign would be a sure victory, the Campaign Command had to change the combat plan from "fight fast, win fast" to "fight steady, advance steady". The units received orders to pull the cannons back out.

On February 1, 1954, To Vinh Dien's unit was pulling the artillery out, reaching a high and narrow slope near Ban Chuoi. He and a gunner were in charge of controlling the artillery's hoist to adjust the direction for the unit to pull the winch to hold the artillery. Suddenly, the French fired artillery from Muong Thanh. The unit pulling the artillery lay down, and at the same time the winch broke. The artillery lost momentum and rolled over, gunner Le Van Chi was thrown into the abyss by the hoist. The artillery continued to lose momentum and gradually drifted backwards.

Faced with that situation, To Vinh Dien shouted to his comrades, "Rather sacrifice, determined to protect the cannon" and let go of the steering wheel and ran forward, using his body to block the cannon's wheel. The cannon got stuck, leaned against the mountainside and stopped. The unit managed to stop the cannon and bring To Vinh Dien out. When his comrades came to his rescue, he only had time to ask: "Is there anything wrong with the cannon?" and then exhausted, sacrificed himself.

To Vinh Dien's example of sacrificing himself to save the artillery was admired by the entire front. On May 7, 1956, he was posthumously awarded the Second Class Military Exploit Medal and the title of Hero of the People's Armed Forces by the Party and State.

Libra (Synthesis)

Source: https://vtcnews.vn/chien-si-nao-lay-than-minh-chen-banh-phao-trong-chien-dich-dien-bien-phu-ar934374.html