The story of two soldiers on two fronts

06:30, 21/05/2023

Born and raised in a patriotic family, Ms. Doan Thi Thanh Can joined the revolution from a young age.

Brave, daring, “smart, stubborn, daring” and very resourceful and intelligent, in 1965, when she was only 15 years old, as a nurse, she alone broke in, secretly planted mines, and destroyed the Con Huu post (now the headquarters of the People's Committee of Hoa Quy Ward, Ngu Hanh Son District, Da Nang City). With that achievement, she was honored to become the first person in our country to be awarded the title of American Destroyer. On November 18, 1966, at the age of 16, Head of the Health Department of Hoa Quy Commune, Doan Thi Thanh Can, was admitted to the Party.

In August 1969, the Command of the Hoa Vang 3rd Military Region attacked the Nuoc Man airport, causing many casualties and losses to the enemy. When our forces withdrew, Mrs. Can, despite the danger, volunteered to stay in the secret bunker to care for and treat the wounded. Due to a spy's intel, she was captured by the enemy and taken to the 7th Fleet at sea. Knowing that this was a "fierce" Viet Cong, they tried every way to interrogate her, but she always maintained her revolutionary spirit, determined not to betray or confess. After beating her, cutting open her stomach, cutting her intestines, removing her ovaries, and cutting her leg tendons, when they saw that she was barely alive, they immediately took her to Duy Tan Morgue (the area of Military Hospital 17, Logistics Department of Military Region 5 today) to wait for death in the most painful way.

While patrolling through this dark morgue, a soldier of the Republic of Vietnam accidentally heard the faint, wheezing sounds. He mustered up the courage to push the door open and lift the white cloth to check. Seeing the little girl, about the same age as his children, lying there dying, his compassion arose. Mr. Hai Can - a soldier on the other side of the battle line - quickly went to get a warm towel to clean and bandage the wound, then cooked porridge and spoon-fed Mrs. Can.

Ms. Doan Thi Thanh Can tells fighting stories to today's young generation.

Two days later, knowing that the morgue was preparing to bury the bodies without relatives, Mr. Hai Can told her: "If you trust me, tell me the family's address. I will contact your relatives to pick you up". Feeling Mr. Hai Can's conscience, humanity and sincerity, Mrs. Can whispered: "You go to Phung Ky photo shop on Hung Vuong street (near Trung Vuong Theater, Da Nang City today) to meet Mrs. Pham Thi Hoa, she will help you". After the special "rescue campaign" (Mr. Hai Can put Mrs. Can in a fake coffin with ventilation holes, placed under the floor of the car and placed real coffins on top to fool the guards), Mrs. Can was taken by our people to Hoa Cam area and then gradually transferred to Hanoi . Due to the severity of her injuries, the organization decided to send her to China and the Soviet Union for further treatment, but it only improved somewhat.

Through the mass media, the story of the brave and courageous Vietnamese female military medic who was brutally tortured and abused by the enemy has been admired and respected by peace-loving people all over the world . From Germany, Charité Hospital chartered a plane with full medical equipment to Vietnam to take Ms. Can to care for and treat her wounds. From the intestines and tendons of a German girl who unfortunately died in a skiing accident, the surgery that lasted for many hours saved Ms. Can from death. However, at this time, she could only crawl and could not walk normally. After a while in Germany, she missed her homeland so much that she insisted on returning to Vietnam. By persistently and persistently practicing walking, she was gradually able to stand on her own two feet, surprising and admiring the doctors and nurses who treated her.

After the liberation day, Ms. Can was assigned by the People's Committee of Da Nang City to be in charge of population and family planning work. Seeing that the lives of people in the highlands were still too difficult, she often stood up to donate, mobilize, support, and help them, so everyone loved and respected her. Her means of transportation at that time was mainly cheap cyclo rides. And once when doing charity work in Da Nang, Ms. Can recognized a cyclo driver as Mr. Hai Can - the guard at Duy Tan morgue who had saved her life. After that, thanks to Ms. Can's introduction and sponsorship, Mr. Can and his four sons were accepted to work as porters at Tien Sa Port. Although life was still difficult and hard, the income was much higher than that of cyclo drivers. In gratitude for saving his life, when Mr. Can was in the hospital for treatment of terminal cancer, Ms. Can was always present, feeding him bowls of porridge and spoonfuls of rice. When he passed away, she took care of everything herself like a blood relative.

With her outstanding achievements in combat, in 2017, Ms. Can was awarded the title of Hero of the People's Armed Forces by the Party and the State. Now, at the age of 73, her health has declined significantly, but every day she and her comrades and friends join hands to support and help the poor; veterans, youth volunteers, victims of Agent Orange; build schools, buy clothes, books, and school supplies for students in mountainous areas and revolutionary bases. For her, that is a great joy and happiness.

An Khang

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