The victory in the first battle – a glorious milestone in history.

On August 5, 1964, the people and army of Quang Ninh won their first victory in the US imperialist air war of destruction against North Vietnam. Sixty-one years have passed, but the glorious memory of this victory against the US imperialist air and naval bombing campaign against North Vietnam remains a source of pride for the people and army of Quang Ninh. The heroic spirit and lessons learned from this victory have become a great source of motivation for successive generations to strive, achieve many glorious victories, and join the whole country in defeating the imperialist invaders, liberating the South, and unifying the nation.

Naval forces, anti-aircraft artillery, militia, Hon Gai Port self-defense forces, Quang Ninh armed people's police... in the heroic battle on August 5, 1964, on the Cua Luc River. Archival photo.

Sixty-one years ago, on August 2nd and 5th, 1964, in its very first combat deployment, the Vietnam People's Navy repelled the destroyer USS Maddox of the US imperialists. After the Maddox was driven out of our waters, on the night of August 4th, 1964, the US imperialists fabricated the "Gulf of Tonkin Incident" to launch a retaliatory operation called "Operation Pierce Arrow".

On August 5, 1964, the US used dozens of modern fighter and attack aircraft, divided into three waves, to launch surprise attacks simultaneously on economic targets, bases, warehouses, and ship mooring areas along the coast from Gianh port (Quang Binh); Cua Hoi, Vinh, Ben Thuy (Nghe An); Lach Truong (Thanh Hoa) to Hon Gai, Bai Chay (Quang Ninh) in an attempt to destroy our naval forces, marking the beginning of a large-scale war of destruction against North Vietnam.

In Quang Ninh province, at 1:35 PM on August 5, 1964, numerous groups of modern American jet aircraft from the 7th Fleet swarmed in to bomb and shell our naval port at Bai Chay and several areas of Hon Gai town. With high vigilance and readiness for combat, from the very first moment, naval and anti-aircraft artillery units bravely repelled the enemy aircraft. Infantry soldiers, armed police, and militia coordinated closely with the anti-aircraft artillery units, creating a dense, multi-layered air defense network.

The moments of tenacious and heroic fighting in the battle of yesteryear are forever etched in the hearts of every officer and soldier of the 217th Air Defense Battalion - a unit that at the time was ordered by the Air Defense and Air Force Command to be ready to counter enemy aircraft in the first battle, protecting the Hon Gai - Cam Pha Industrial Zone.

Veteran Pham Khac Dinh examines artifacts related to the first victory at the Quang Ninh Museum.

Veteran Pham Khac Dinh (86 years old), 61 years ago, when the US escalated the war in North Vietnam, had just graduated from the 3rd course of the Anti-Aircraft Artillery Officer School and was assigned to fight in Battalion 217 of the Air Defense-Air Force Command. During the battles on August 2nd and 5th, 1964, he was a platoon commander in the 141st Anti-Aircraft Artillery Company at the Command Post, directly receiving orders from the company commander and relaying information to the relevant platoons.

Recalling that historic moment, veteran Pham Khac Dinh shared: "When the alert came from the command post, the gun crews immediately took their combat positions. The crew members calmly pulled the triggers, aiming at the 'flock of eagles' swooping down to attack the naval ships and closely following other aircraft circling, waiting for them to dive into the appropriate firing range. The more we fought, the more determined we became. That day, after the fighting, both companies 141 and 143 reported shooting down aircraft, but it wasn't yet confirmed whether any had crashed. By evening, we received information from the Ministry of National Defense in the Bai Chay area that we had shot down three aircraft, and the battalion was credited with shooting down enemy planes."

Also a witness to that glorious victory, Colonel Phung Ngoc Hung (92 years old), a former Vietnamese military expert who has witnessed countless changes in Quang Ninh from war to peace, still vividly remembers the glorious victory in the first battle surrounding the "Gulf of Tonkin Incident" in August 1964.

Colonel Phung Ngoc Hung, a former Vietnamese military expert, recounted the glorious victory in the first battle surrounding the "Gulf of Tonkin Incident" in August 1964 to a reporter from the Provincial Media Center.

Colonel Phung Ngoc Hung shared: "In the memory of our people and army in general, and of Quang Ninh province in particular, the victory in the first battle on August 5th was a resounding victory of epochal significance. In that first test of fire, the army and people of Quang Ninh shot down three American aircraft, two of which crashed on the spot. Among them, Lieutenant E. Alvarez, piloting an A4D aircraft, was shot down by the 14.5mm gun platoon at 2:43 PM on August 5th, 1964, and captured alive in Hon Moi Bay - Ha Long Bay. Immediately after the battle, Prime Minister Pham Van Dong visited and praised the first victory of Battalion 217. The Prime Minister instructed: 'Our victory is great, but it is only the first battle. We must learn from this experience to fight better and achieve even greater victories.'" The victory in the first battle was a triumph of the people's war strategy, involving the entire population and encompassing all aspects, a victory of the courage of our army and people in resisting foreign invaders. I think it must now be clearly stated that this was a victory of the army and people of the North in general, and the army and people of Quang Ninh in particular.

The victory in the first battle on August 5th is a source of immense pride for the people and armed forces of the entire country and of Quang Ninh province. It is closely linked to the great history of our people and nation, which defeated the destructive war waged by the American imperialists, bringing the resistance war against the US to complete victory, liberating the South and unifying the Fatherland. This is a glorious milestone in the history of the resistance war against the US by the people and armed forces of Quang Ninh province. It will forever be etched in the history of the fighting and victory of this resilient land and will never fade from the hearts of the heroic people of the mining region.

Truc Linh

Source: https://baoquangninh.vn/chien-thang-tran-dau-moc-son-choi-loi-trong-lich-su-3349507.html