The heart of a veteran of Division 320
Veteran Le Manh Hai, residing in Thanh Vinh ward, is the Head of the Traditional Liaison Committee of Division 320 in Nghe Tinh area. Nearly 7 years ago, through information in the memoir “There Was a Time Like That” by writer Vo Minh, Mr. Hai found clues about martyr Tran Thanh Hai, a soldier of Regiment 271, who died in 1972 in Tay Ninh .
Connecting the details, events and experiences of his time in the battlefield, veteran Le Manh Hai had a hunch that soldier Tran Thanh Hai in the story of writer Vo Minh was the brother of Mr. Tran Phi Ho - the person who once came to him to ask for help in finding his relative's grave.
After that, Mr. Le Manh Hai and the martyr's family organized a trip to Sa Mat (Tay Ninh) to find the remains of the martyr. With the help of the Tay Ninh Provincial Military Command, especially veteran Nguyen Van Thanh, a local soldier, and Mr. Nguyen Van Dung, a local resident, Mr. Hai and everyone soon determined the burial place of martyr Tran Thanh Hai.
At exactly 9:00 a.m. on November 13, 2018, the family and comrades found the remains of martyr Tran Thanh Hai. At that sacred moment, everyone burst into tears…
Mr. Tran Phi Ho in Truong Vinh ward, younger brother of martyr Tran Thanh Hai, said: “After finding my brother’s remains, we brought them back to be buried at Vinh City Martyrs Cemetery. A few years later, our mother passed away peacefully. The family is extremely grateful to those who helped find my brother’s remains, especially the enthusiasm and responsibility of Mr. Le Manh Hai.”
As the Head of the Traditional Liaison Committee of Division 320 in Nghe Tinh region, Mr. Le Manh Hai is one of the people who have made great contributions in mobilizing and donating. At the same time, he also contributed funds, supported machinery, vehicles... with his comrades to build monuments on the old battlefield, to recreate historical vestiges, remember the merits of soldiers, and commemorate comrades who fought and sacrificed.
Thanks to that, 4 memorial steles in Gia Lai, Quang Ngai and Ho Chi Minh City were completed and became symbols of comradeship. The memorial steles are the crystallization of the hearts full of gratitude of the veterans of Division 320, including veterans of Nghe Tinh.
As a businessman, doing business in many fields. To have today's life, many of my comrades have fallen. That urged me to return to the old battlefield, not sparing time, effort and money to build a memorial to my comrades, from which, I feel more peaceful.
Veteran Le Manh Hai
Cross the forest to find teammates
Returning from the battlefield, many soldiers are always worried about their comrades lying on the edge of the forest or on the mountain slopes. The nostalgia has urged veterans to search for their comrades and provide information to the gathering units. Veteran Nguyen Xuan Cam (born in 1951) in Hamlet 1, Minh Chau Commune (former Dien Chau District) was once in the fighting formation of Regiment 57 (Military Region 4).
During his life-and-death experiences on the Quang Tri battlefield, the veteran witnessed many sacrifices and personally buried his fallen comrades. Despite his injuries, Mr. Cam was fortunate to be able to return home to reunite with his family and hometown, but he still longs for his comrades who are still lying on the battlefields.
The longing and longing urged Mr. Cam to do meaningful things, contributing to easing the pain of the martyrs' relatives. In 2013, he discussed with the family of martyr Vo Van Tung (died in 1970) to go to Quang Tri to find the grave, because Mr. Cam and martyr Tung were the same age, from the same hometown, enlisted in the army on the same day and fought in the same company.
And it was also Mr. Cam who buried martyr Tung when he was hit by a bomb fragment and died at checkpoint 402. “The journey to find his comrade’s grave was extremely arduous, taking a day of wading through streams and crossing mountain passes to reach peak 402, where Tung died. We had to keep a distance of 15m between each person to avoid stepping on remaining mines, and finally we were able to bring his remains back to his hometown for burial,” Mr. Cam recounted.
In recent years, dozens of veterans in Nghe An have volunteered to go to the old battlefield to find their comrades' graves, helping many families overcome their grief and loss. A typical example is Mr. Nguyen Tat Trien in Truong Vinh ward who has repeatedly visited cemeteries in the Tri - Thien region to record the names of each martyr from Nghe An, then divided them by locality, and sent them to the Department of Labor - Invalids and Social Affairs of the (old) districts, asking them to deliver them to each family.
Or Mr. Tu Viet Thu in Thien Nhan commune (former Nam Dan district) went to the old Quang - Da front many times and found dozens of martyrs' graves; Mr. Le Van Thuyet in Truong Vinh ward also found dozens of martyrs' graves in the Quang Tri battlefield; Mr. Dau Van Minh in Cua Lo ward directly joined the family of Mr. Mai Thanh Duong to bring the remains of his brother, martyr Mai Thanh Son, back to his hometown for burial...
As a veteran who joined the army after 1975, with deep gratitude, Mr. Dang Quang Huynh in Tan Chau commune (former Dien Chau district) has done a very meaningful job. Mr. Huynh has been to Quang Tri twice, visited all the cemeteries and took photos of the martyrs' tombstones of Nghe An. A total of more than 700 photos were printed and sent to families and localities according to the information on the tombstones. Thanks to that, some families have found the graves of their relatives.
It is known that since 2017, the Provincial Veterans Association and the Nghe An Provincial Military Command have implemented a program to coordinate propaganda, mobilize information provision, and improve the effectiveness of searching for and collecting martyrs' remains. The purpose of the program is to promote the role of veterans and Associations at all levels to actively participate in providing information about martyrs and martyrs' graves to improve the effectiveness of searching for and collecting martyrs' remains.
Since its launch, the Provincial Veterans Association has received a lot of information about many martyrs' graves provided by its members.
Searching for martyrs’ graves is both a responsibility and a sentiment of veterans towards their fallen comrades. Over the years, veterans’ associations at all levels have mobilized many members to go to the old battlefields to search for their comrades’ graves and provide important information to the gathering groups. Thereby, expressing gratitude and remembrance for the contributions of those who sacrificed for the Fatherland, at the same time, meeting the expectations of the families and relatives of the martyrs.
Colonel Nguyen Duy Can - Deputy Head of Working Committee, Veterans Association of Nghe An province
Source: https://baonghean.vn/chuyen-cuu-binh-nghe-an-bang-rung-vuot-suoi-tim-mo-dong-doi-hy-sinh-tai-chien-truong-phia-nam-10302681.html
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