Story of the girl who opened the Truong Son road - Lang Son Newspaper and Radio and Television Station

- Remembering her passionate and enthusiastic youth, participating in opening the Truong Son road - the legendary Ho Chi Minh road, Ms. Bui Thi Dinh (born in 1956, residing in Khon Khuyen village, Mai Pha commune, Lang Son city), a Truong Son veteran, cannot help but feel proud every time she recalls it.

In August 1973, 17-year-old Bui Thi Dinh volunteered to join the army. After training at Battalion 14, Trieu Son, Thanh Hoa for 2 months, in November 1973, Ms. Dinh marched to Quang Tri , receiving the task of building Road 14 Khe Sanh. At this time, she was assigned to Division 473, Group 559.

Mrs. Bui Thi Dinh (far right) takes a photo with her comrades in June 1976.

That year, the resistance war against the US was entering a fierce phase. At that time, the strategic military transport route called Truong Son (also known as the Ho Chi Minh trail) was the vital route for transporting troops, food, and weapons to support the battlefield in the South. Mrs. Dinh was one of thousands of soldiers participating in opening the Truong Son route.

Mrs. Dinh recounted: My battalion had the task of digging drainage ditches, measuring the road surface to the correct technical standards and cleaning it up neatly to hand over to the youth volunteer force for paving. With the spirit of "blood can be shed but the road cannot be blocked", we worked tirelessly day and night, starting from 4:30 in the morning until 22:00 at night. Every day, we only slept for about 3 to 4 hours, but everyone was full of energy, no one complained about being tired or complaining about hardship, the work was hard but very fun, perhaps because we were all in our 18s and 20s, full of youthful energy.

It was also because of that youthful energy that even though the Truong Son road was plowed by bombs and bullets, the roads were still repaired and many more branches were opened, connecting from the North to the bases in the South. The soldiers who opened the roads overcame all hardships to connect the roads to bring vehicles to the battlefield. Just like the lyrics of the song “The Girl Who Opened the Road” by musician Xuan Giao:

“Oh, the girls who are paving the way day and night/Ask me how old I am that my strength is extraordinary/I go up into the green forest to pave the way/I go up into the mountains and the mountains have to bow their heads/I go to build bridges/Connecting the roads of our beloved Fatherland/Sending vehicles straight to the battlefield”.

During the years of the resistance war against the US, the weather in Truong Son was extremely harsh. In the dry season, the sun was scorching, the dust was thick, the soil and rocks were dry and cracked, and in the rainy season, there was heavy rain for a long time, the dirt roads were slimy and slippery, making it difficult for the troops and the soldiers to move.

Mrs. Dinh remembers: In the summer, we had to cover ourselves from head to toe to avoid dust. The Truong Son soil is red basalt. Whenever the wind blew, the dust would be as thick as a whirlwind. Our clothes would be covered in dust after a day of work. And in the rainy season, the layers of mud were nearly 50 cm thick. We had to go into the forest to cut down trees and build a temporary bridge for vehicles to cross.

Despite being resilient and strong, facing the enemy’s “rain of bombs and bullets” without fear, the female soldiers of Truong Son had simple fears such as: fear of leeches covering their feet in the rainy season, fear of malaria, scabies and hair loss, fear of ghosts… However, no fear could overcome the deep hatred for the enemy in the hearts of the girls who paved the way. For them, the task of building the new road was the number one priority.

Mrs. Bui Thi Dinh reviews memories through each photo

The war was so fierce that there were times when the South did not receive supplies from the North. Sometimes for half a year, Mrs. Dinh and her comrades did not have rice to eat, and had to eat dry rations and banana roots. The taste of a hot bowl of rice and a plate of boiled vegetables was also a luxury for the soldiers at that time. However, during those difficult days, the road-clearing girls like Mrs. Dinh still found joy through the songs and chants that their comrades sang together during breaks, or through the love letters that the liberation soldiers who "secretly loved" sent to the 18-year-old female soldier.

With the spirit of “living on the road, dying bravely and steadfastly”, pioneers like Ms. Dinh contributed to creating the legend of the historic Ho Chi Minh trail with a traffic system of 5 vertical axes, 21 horizontal axes, nearly 17,000 km of motorized roads, thereby contributing greatly to the liberation of the South and the reunification of the country.

During her participation in the resistance war, Ms. Dinh was awarded many noble medals such as: Third-class Liberation Medal, Third-class Military Exploit Medal, Third-class Glorious Soldier Medal. After the victory of the Ho Chi Minh Campaign in 1975, Ms. Dinh continued to stay and carry out the task of building roads. In early 1977, Ms. Dinh was sent to study at Lang Son School of Internal Trade. After 1 year of studying, she worked in the trade sector until retiring in January 1993.

The war is over, but the pain of war still remains, affecting Mrs. Dinh and the next generation. While on duty on the Truong Son route, Mrs. Dinh was exposed to Agent Orange. That also caused Mrs. Dinh's eldest son to develop a tumor, and her youngest daughter to be born deaf in one ear, and even Mrs. Dinh's grandson also has this deformity caused by Agent Orange.

Returning to normal life, Ms. Dinh still maintains her enthusiasm when regularly participating in local activities. From 1995 to 2016, Ms. Dinh was the Deputy Head of the Women's Union and the Head of the Loan Group of Cua Dong Block (Chi Lang Ward). Currently, she is the Deputy Head of the Arts and Propaganda Club of the Association of Veteran Entrepreneurs of Lang Son City. Since the beginning of 2025, Ms. Dinh has participated in 10 propaganda sessions on revolutionary heroism, telling traditional stories to over 15,000 high school students in the province.

Mr. Nong Quoc Toan, Vice Chairman of the Truong Son - Ho Chi Minh Trail Tradition Association of the province, said: As a veteran of Group 559, Ms. Dinh always promoted the tradition of Truong Son soldiers, set an example, strictly followed the Party's guidelines and policies, the State's policies and laws, and local regulations. At the same time, she actively participated in emulation movements and campaigns in the locality, especially regularly participating in cultural and artistic activities, and participating in propagating revolutionary heroism to the younger generation.

Now, Mrs. Dinh is always proud of having meaningful youth years for national independence. At the age of 70, Mrs. Dinh continues to pass on good traditional values ​​to the younger generation, shining the qualities and spirit of Uncle Ho's soldiers in the new era.

Source: https://baolangson.vn/chuyen-ve-co-gai-mo-duong-truong-son-5047512.html