Urgent dispatch

Mr. Tong Phuoc Tho (left) with his family

Mr. Tong Phuoc Tho (alias Tong Phuoc Khoi), born in October 1953 in Trang hamlet, Phuoc Hung hamlet, Loc Thuy commune, Phu Loc district, Thua Thien province (now Chan May - Lang Co commune, Hue city). This place was named by the revolution as Phuoc Hung hamlet, Tan Loc commune, Phu Loc district.

Before 1975, Phuoc Hung village was the gateway to the revolution and a strategic corridor from Ram mountain to Loc Vinh commune and 5 communes of Zone 3 on the other side of Cau Hai lagoon, belonging to Vinh Loc district (now Vinh Loc commune). At that time, the US - puppet regime compared this village to a "mixed sticky rice and bean" area, meaning that during the day it was controlled by the enemy and at night it was controlled by the revolution.

Born into a poor peasant family with a revolutionary tradition (Mr. Tho's father and mother were awarded the First Class Anti-American Medal by the State), at the age of 14-15, he was exposed to revolutionary forces from Ram Mountain. Mr. Tho was soon enlightened about the revolution and was challenged by the organization to be a secret guerrilla, such as: organizing the puppet army, puppet government, police and notorious villains in the commune and hamlet. Despite his young age, he demonstrated his steadfastness and excellently completed the assigned tasks.

Following his wish to leave his family to serve the local revolution, from July 1967 to May 1968, Mr. Tho was withdrawn by Phu Loc District Team to the forest and assigned to Special Forces Team 3 (equivalent to Company 3) for military training to prepare for combat. He directly participated in the 1968 Tet Offensive and Uprising in Phu Loc District. From May 1968 to August 1969, Mr. Tho was assigned by the district to be the Station Chief of Phu Loc District Liaison Station. With many achievements in work and combat, he was admitted to the Party when he turned 16 years old.

During an urgent mail delivery mission of Phu Loc District Party Committee to the lower Tan Loc Party Cell (at that time, Tan Loc commune was divided into 2 sections, the upper section included Thuy Yen, Thuy Cam, Ba To, Xom Dap, Xom Cho, An Bang villages; the lower section included Phu Xuyen, Phu Cuong, Xom Cho and Phuoc Hung villages), when preparing to cross the railway (the section with the fallen train car), the enemy discovered and opened fire on the formation (the line team had 3 people). Mr. Tho and two teammates organized a counter-ambush. In that battle, two of his teammates were sacrificed, and Mr. Tho was seriously injured in the left leg and abdomen.

At that time, if Mr. Tho returned to the starting point, he would not have completed the mission. If he crawled across the road to Ram mountain, he might have been shot dead by the enemy. But because of his mission, Mr. Tho still risked crossing Bu Lu river to deliver the document to Tan Loc Commune Party Committee.

“At that time, while waiting for the enemy’s flares to go out and trying to crawl across the railway and the national highway to the edge of Trang hamlet (about 200 meters from his house), I discovered a signal that there was an enemy ambush in the hamlet. If I entered the house, I would be captured or shot dead by the enemy, so I tried to crawl to the edge of Bu Lu river, put the document bag on my head, and immersed my whole body in water to erase all traces,” Mr. Tho recalled.

After swimming across 3 rivers to get to Ram mountain and being exhausted from hunger, thirst, and blood loss, when it was almost dawn, Mr. Tho hid in a bush next to the riverbank to listen to the situation and discovered that there were American soldiers stationed on the other side of the river, so he had to stay on the riverbank for another day, waiting for it to get dark before swimming across the river to contact Mr. Diem, Secretary of Tan Loc Commune Party Committee. And when he completed the mission, he was exhausted, then he was taken to the surgical station to recover and bandage his wounds.

During this time, Mr. Tho was awarded the title of district-level emulation fighter and officially transferred to the Party on July 1, 1970. Peace was restored, and with his contributions, veteran Tong Phuoc Tho was awarded the Third Class Anti-American Resistance Medal.

“Compared to the contributions and sacrifices of my comrades and those who died for the independence and freedom of the nation, this is just a very small story. But for me, being able to join the Party at a very young age and contributing a small part to the revolution is something that makes me proud,” Mr. Tong Phuoc Tho shared.

Article and photos: HAN DANG

Source: https://huengaynay.vn/chinh-tri-xa-hoi/chuyen-cong-van-hoa-toc-156198.html