Build ramparts and walls from the blood of soldiers

At the Provincial Border Guard Command, there is a shrine to the heroic martyrs who sacrificed their lives in the fight to protect the Southwestern border. It is known that this is the first and only unit in the southern border provinces and cities to have this activity. On holidays, Tet, and the unit's traditional day, many officers and soldiers gather to burn incense to commemorate the 130 martyrs who sacrificed their lives in that fierce period. Each time incense is offered, the next generation reminds themselves to strive to contribute and do better in their duties in peacetime.

History cannot forget, on the night of April 30, 1977, Pol Pot mobilized all the main force and local troops stationed along the opposite border to attack the An Giang border, starting a large-scale war along the entire southwestern border. A number of posts, stations and outposts of the An Giang armed police (Tinh Bien, Vat Lai, Muong Hoi Dong, Vinh Hoi Dong, Bac Dai...) were attacked by the enemy with concentrated forces and strong firepower, with destructive effects. Their intention was to use strong firepower to restrain, use infantry to penetrate deep into our country's border; plotting to "uproot" all posts, stations, occupy land as a springboard to attack deep into the interior.

Veteran Dinh Van Du (who was present since the establishment of Vinh Xuong Armed Police Station) recalled: “On the night of April 30, early morning of May 1, 1977, Pol Pot mobilized a battalion to attack Dong Duc Armed Police Station (located in Phu Huu commune, An Phu district today), Chua Thay Bay post (Vinh Xuong Armed Police Station). They divided into 3 groups (each group had about 10 - 25 soldiers), using B40, B41, M72, M79 guns, grenades... to attack the armed police station and post”.

Mobile Squad 2, Long Binh People's Armed Police Station received the title of Hero of the People's Armed Forces in 1979.

But all intentions were defeated by the fierce counterattack, the tenacious and indomitable fighting of the army and people of An Giang in general, and the armed police force in particular. At Dong Duc Armed Police Station, the number of troops was small, weapons were limited, but with prior preparation, officers and soldiers still calmly fought back. After the first blow, the enemy continued to crawl up. We let them get close, suddenly threw grenades, and opened fire simultaneously. Seeing that, they retreated. After 30 minutes of fighting, we killed and wounded many of them. In this battle, Corporal Dang Ngoc Buu (22 years old) was sacrificed, and 1 soldier was wounded. The excellent achievements helped Dong Duc Armed Police Station be awarded the Third Class Military Exploit Medal.

After nearly 2 years of holding out and fighting, the An Giang Armed Police fought 637 large and small battles; destroyed and captured more than 1,000 enemies; captured and called for surrender of hundreds of remnants, reactionaries, spies, etc.; collected more than 400 guns and dozens of tons of ammunition of all kinds. On the stele engraved with the names of 130 martyrs at the Provincial Border Guard Command, the golden board listing the names of 19 martyrs of the Vinh Xuong Armed Police Station, the name of martyr Hoang Kim Long (born in 1959, hometown Thai Binh province) always comes first. He is the only person of the An Giang Armed Police to be posthumously awarded the title of Hero of the People's Armed Forces.

The story of the martyr Hoang Kim Long is deeply engraved in the hearts of the cadres and soldiers of the later generations. As a DKZ82 gunner, he researched how to shoot the DKZ without using his feet, flexibly applying it to all terrains and conditions. In less than 1 year (July 1977 to April 1978), he fought in 35 battles, single-handedly destroying 9 enemy fire points, contributing with his unit to destroying 50 Pol Pot soldiers. On April 7 alone, he continuously maneuvered, fired 17 shots, and destroyed 4 enemy fire clusters. As soon as the 17th shell was fired, he was hit by enemy artillery and sacrificed himself on the battlefield, when he was more than 1 month away from turning 19...

Throughout the history of fighting to protect the Fatherland's borders and building the unit, An Giang Border Guard has 3 groups and 1 individual honored to be awarded the title of Hero of the People's Armed Forces. The unit was presented with flower baskets by President Ton Duc Thang 3 times; was awarded 2 Military Exploit Medals; 825 Military Exploit Medals of various types; 8 Fatherland Protection Medals; 207 Victory Flag Medals, along with many awards from all levels, sectors and localities.

The blood and great sacrifices of the heroic martyrs of the entire unit have "built ramparts and walls", keeping the border free of enemies. The Southwestern border war ended, the activities of the An Giang Border Guard entered a new phase, with comprehensive and profound changes in all aspects of work. The unit has advised the Border Guard Command, the Provincial Party Committee, and the Provincial People's Committee on many policies and measures to protect border sovereignty and security, build a people's border defense associated with a solid people's national defense posture and people's security posture; participate in building and consolidating the political system at the border, building and developing the local economy, culture and society; effectively implementing border foreign affairs; building a strong unit in all aspects.

“To educate the young generation about patriotism and love for socialism; to maintain and promote the glorious tradition, each officer and soldier of the provincial Border Guard today is always steadfast in will, determined in the ideal goals chosen by the Party and Uncle Ho; strives to study, train, and practice to achieve the highest results; is always ready to fight, intelligent, brave, creative, accepts and excellently completes all assigned tasks" - Senior Lieutenant Colonel Nguyen Van Hiep (Party Secretary, Political Commissar of the provincial Border Guard) affirmed.

GIA KHANH

Source: https://baoangiang.com.vn/dap-luy-xay-thanh-tu-mau-dao-chien-si-a419852.html