 |
| The photo shows Mrs. Ngo Thi Lanh and Mr. Do Van Tay standing beside a memorial plaque commemorating one of the four secret bunkers their family built to shelter revolutionary cadres. |
Land of Heroic Fires
The village of Lang Xa Bau was nestled amidst a dense encirclement of enemy outposts. To the west lay the Phu Bai - Dong Toa - Ap 5 base complex. Closer were the American and Saigon army's encampments at Da Le, Cau Vuc, the VOA radio station, and the Thanh Thuy Chanh outpost. At its peak, Lang Xa Bau had only 100 households, mostly families receiving government support. Eleven mothers were awarded the title of Heroic Vietnamese Mother, most notably Mother Nguyen Thi Diep, who had six sons who were martyrs and two sons who were wounded soldiers; one daughter was awarded the First Class Resistance Medal.
During the two wars of resistance against France and the United States, Lang Xa Bau always had Party members stationed there, and many Party members operated legally behind enemy lines. From 1969 to 1975, Ms. Le Thi Don, a second-class war invalid, served as the Party branch secretary. Lang Xa Bau was a base for the armed and political forces of the Hue City Party Committee, the Huong Thuy District Party Committee, and the Phu Vang District Party Committee (formerly). Among them were key Party officials, such as comrades Hoang Lanh, Deputy Secretary of the Provincial Party Committee and Secretary of the Hue City Party Committee (formerly); Nguyen Xuan Nga, Provincial Party Committee member and Secretary of the Huong Thuy District Party Committee (formerly); and Le Hung Vinh, Provincial Party Committee member and Secretary of the Phu Vang District Party Committee (formerly)… This place also served as an important logistical base for feeding troops and protecting wounded and sick soldiers. Thousands of cadres and soldiers received food and medicine to support combat, especially during and after the Tet Offensive.
Mrs. Don's house was actually a stronghold of the local leadership apparatus, with four secret bunkers built by the family. Three of these bunkers were located along the stream running through the former Phu Vang district, cleverly camouflaged with natural bamboo roots and weeds growing close to the water's edge. In addition, there was a special bunker situated directly beneath the family's cannon shelter, with a concrete-reinforced bamboo opening that allowed Ngo Thi Lanh to easily cover it herself. From 1968 to 1973, people stayed in the bunker every day, sometimes as many as 11-12 people.
Some of the bunkers in Bau hamlet were too far from the civilian population to be used permanently. During the flood season, the revolutionary base in Lang Xa Bau village often secretly moved cadres and soldiers into the area by hiding them in straw piles or rice bins in their own homes.
Brave youth
Ngo Thi Lanh, also known as Ngo Thi Sen, was born on October 10, 1955, in Lang Xa Bau village, into a family with a revolutionary tradition. Her paternal grandparents participated in the resistance against the French and American forces, with her paternal grandmother, Nguyen Thi Diep, being awarded the title of Heroic Vietnamese Mother. Her maternal grandparents and five children (sons and daughters) also participated in the resistance; one uncle was a martyr, another was relocated to the North; and two aunts received the Resistance Medal for the war against the US to save the nation.
Ngo Thi Lanh's father was Ngo Viet Chau, also known as Chat, a member of the District Party Committee and Secretary of the Party Committee of Thuy Thanh commune (formerly), a first-class war invalid; her mother was Le Thi Don, a second-class war invalid; and her older sister was Ngo Thi Lien, a fourth-class war invalid.
Growing up in a heroic, war-torn land, and constantly educated by her uncles and older siblings, Lanh always harbored a burning hatred for the enemy and displayed a patriotic spirit early on. At the young age of nine, Lanh received her first assignments: monitoring enemy activities, guarding, and concealing secret bunkers to shelter enemy forces. Taking advantage of the enemy's laxness and lack of attention to children, Lanh would appear and disappear quickly; sometimes disguised as a young girl picking vegetables or gathering firewood, other times as a teenager selling tapioca dumplings, all to monitor enemy activities at the Thanh Thuy Chanh outpost…
Because Lang Xa Bau village and Lanh's family were on the blacklist, the area was frequently raided by the enemy; people were rounded up and sent to concentration camps, only allowed to return to the village during the day to increase agricultural production. The transportation of goods in and out of the concentration camps was strictly controlled. Saigon regime soldiers were scattered among the population to directly monitor them. They frequently ambushed Mrs. Don's house and sometimes unexpectedly broke in to detect any activity, but the mother and daughter always effectively countered them. Furious at being unable to find incriminating evidence, the commander ordered a pit dug deep enough to reach an adult's head, and had each person buried up to their neck. He then fired a machine gun at Lanh's ears as a warning, but neither her grandmother, mother, nor Lanh's sister uttered a word. Tragically, Lanh's younger sister suffered the consequences, becoming mentally incapacitated for several years before regaining her senses.
It was in that tense situation that Mrs. Le Thi Don was shot and seriously wounded in 1969 while on guard duty. After treatment, her health deteriorated significantly, and she had to wear a protective abdominal brace constantly, so she could only do light work. From then on, the burden of supporting the family fell on Lanh's young shoulders.
To feed their family and ensure the army's sustenance, Lanh's mother diligently cultivated 5 acres of water spinach and raised dozens of chickens and ducks; they also planted taro and sweet potatoes around the house to have food on hand. Water spinach became their daily "rice pot," a means of concealing documents and protecting secrets for the cadres. Often, the whole family had to eat taro instead of rice to save food for the army during campaign seasons.
Supplying had become an art form. Sometimes Lanh would deliver food to secret bunkers; other times she would prepare supplies and pack them into machine gun crates to deliver to rendezvous points. At times, she would brave gunfire to supply the troops fighting off enemy raids on the battlefield.
To protect the cadres, Lành had to proactively prepare escape routes for the defending forces to move through; constantly change the way she gave signals to alert them when the enemy was in the village or ambushing them; and use ducks to stir up mud to camouflage the cadres when they entered and exited the secret tunnels… Many times, she remained unfazed while concealing cadres being transported into the village, crossing the guard post of the militia at Lang Xá Bàu communal house, a distance of less than 100 meters.
The most difficult period was after the Spring 1968 General Offensive and Uprising. Our forces suffered heavy casualties due to enemy counterattacks, and families had to hide and care for many wounded soldiers for nearly a month before transferring them to the rear base. As the head of the communication line in Zone 3, Lành had to constantly move between the assigned areas.
Together with comrades Do Van Tay and Tran Thi Huyen, I found every way to overcome the enemy's strict control system to transport cadres and deliver secret documents to key officials in various localities through liaison points at Da Le market, in the inner city of Hue , in Zone 3 of Huong Thuy, and to many communes in Phu Vang district (formerly). I reminded my comrades to be extremely skillful; to be wholeheartedly loyal to the Party; and to resolutely not surrender or betray anyone if they unfortunately fell into the enemy's hands.
At times, Lành single-handedly transported cadres across the fields towards Thủy Phương to follow the supply line to the rear base; at other times, she handed them over to Ms. Trần Thị Mơ, the legitimate Party Secretary in Lợi Nông village; and at other times, she received and deployed forces, including her uncle Ngô Viết Hải, or welcomed Comrade Dương Quang Đấu - Deputy Commander of the City Command and a number of cadres and soldiers to prepare for the Spring 1975 General Offensive and Uprising.
Lành's most outstanding achievement was at the age of 13, when she was assigned by Comrade Nguyễn Viết Hùng, the District Military Commander, to guide a unit into Huế to fight the enemy during the Spring Offensive of 1968. She was awarded the Third Class Military Merit Medal on December 30, 1969. On June 16, 1974, she was admitted to the Party and subsequently assigned as the secretary of the reserve Party branch codenamed A70.
Lành was resourceful and courageous when he found a way to quickly move the district leaders to hide in a mud pit while enemy planes were circling in search of them. Lành proactively removed the net to let water into the boat, then frantically bailed out the water with one hand while waving his hat in the air with the other as a sign of safety. Lành clearly saw the American and Saigon soldiers with their guns pointed at him, glancing around for a while but finding nothing, so he leaped high into the air and fled.
Every action of Lanh was a victory. The struggle led to a happy ending: the beautiful love and marital devotion of the secret operative Ngo Thi Lanh and Do Van Tay, who built a happy life together. Both received the Anti-American Resistance Medal and the 50-Year Party Membership Badge. Ngo Thi Lanh is a third-class war invalid.
The couple are both members of the An Cựu Ward Party Committee. They cherish the traditions and fond memories of their youth and the unforgettable years of struggle.
Source: https://huengaynay.vn/chinh-polit-xa-hoi/dat-lua-anh-hung-tam-guong-dung-cam-ngo-thi-lanh-165147.html
